How net pay is calculated in Ireland
Irish employees are paid through PAYE, usually monthly or weekly, with 12 monthly salaries a year — there is no 13th month. Your employer deducts three things from gross pay, plus the new auto-enrolment pension where it applies:
- Income tax at 20% up to your standard rate cut-off point and 40% above it: €44,000 for a single person, €48,000 for a single parent, €53,000 for a married couple or civil partners with one income, and up to €88,000 for a couple with two incomes (the €35,000 increase is limited to the lower earner's income). Tax credits are then deducted: €2,000 personal (€4,000 for a couple), €2,000 Employee Tax Credit, €1,900 Single Person Child Carer Credit, €1,950 Home Carer Tax Credit and up to €1,000 Rent Tax Credit.
- USC (Universal Social Charge) on gross pay once income exceeds €13,000: 0.5% up to €12,012, 2% up to €28,700, 3% up to €70,044 and 8% above. Medical-card holders and people aged 70+ with income of €60,000 or less pay at most 2%.
- PRSI (social insurance, Class A): 4.2% of all pay, rising to 4.35% on pay dates from 1 October 2026. Nothing is due up to €352 a week, and a PRSI credit of up to €12 a week softens the step between €352 and €424.
- MyFutureFund: since 1 January 2026, employees aged 23–60 earning €20,000 or more who pay into no pension through payroll are auto-enrolled. You pay 1.5% of gross pay (no tax relief), your employer adds 1.5% and the State 0.5%, on pay up to €80,000 a year. You can opt out after six months.
Example for 2026: a single employee on €50,000 a year pays €7,200 income tax, €1,032.82 USC, €2,118.75 PRSI and €750 into MyFutureFund, leaving €38,898.43 net — about €3,242 a month. A workplace pension contribution instead is deducted before income tax (not before USC or PRSI), within age-related limits of 15–40% of earnings up to €115,000.
Couples and the end-of-year review
Married couples and civil partners are jointly assessed by default. Revenue gives the higher earner the €4,000 married credit and the €53,000 band; the lower earner keeps their own Employee Tax Credit and a band equal to their income, up to €35,000. You can re-allocate credits in myAccount. Because PAYE uses the cumulative basis, a steady salary is taxed correctly through the year; credits you did not claim — rent, medical expenses — come back as a refund after year-end.
Converting an Irish hourly wage
Annual leave and public holidays are paid in Ireland, so the calculator converts an hourly wage as hourly rate × weekly hours × 52 weeks. A full-time week is typically 39 hours: the 2026 national minimum wage of €14.15 an hour gives €28,696.20 a year. Employer PRSI of 11.25% (9% for pay up to €552 a week, both +0.15 points from 1 October 2026) comes on top of gross pay.