How your tax credits certificate works
On €60,000 a single person pays €11,200 income tax and a married person on one income pays €7,400. The pay is the same. The difference is the credits and standard rate cut off point on the certificate.
What your employer is told
When you register a job, Revenue sends your employer a Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN). It tells them how much income tax and USC to deduct from your pay. It carries your tax credits and your standard rate cut off point, which is the amount taxed at 20% before the 40% rate starts. You can see your tax credit certificate and claim extra credits in the PAYE Services section of myAccount. If your tax looks wrong, start there.
Same pay, different situation
| €60,000 salary | Standard rate band | Credits | Income tax | Take home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | €44,000 | €4,000 | €11,200 | €44,925 |
| One parent family | €48,000 | €5,900 | €8,500 | €47,625 |
| Married or civil partners, one income | €53,000 | €6,000 | €7,400 | €48,725 |
| Married, two incomes, the higher earner | €53,000 | €6,000 | €7,400 | €48,725 |
| Married, two incomes, the lower earner | €35,000 | €2,000 | €15,000 | €41,125 |
Single is the case the rest of this site assumes: a €44,000 band, the €2,000 personal credit and the €2,000 employee credit. A one parent family with the single person child carer credit gets €1,900 on top and a band that is €4,000 wider. Married people and civil partners get a €53,000 band and a €4,000 married credit instead of the €2,000 personal credit. The employee credit is on top, so €6,000 in all.
Two incomes
If both of you work, the €53,000 band is increased by the income of the lower earner, up to €35,000. That makes a combined band of up to €88,000. The increase cannot be transferred between spouses or civil partners. In Revenue's own worked example the higher earner has the €53,000 band and the married credit, and the lower earner has a band equal to their own income and the employee credit only.
The table follows that split. At €60,000 the higher earner has €6,000 of credits and a €53,000 band. The lower earner, on the same pay, has €2,000 of credits and a €35,000 band, so the €25,000 above it is taxed at 40%. Couples can divide credits and bands between them in other ways. If you claim the Home Carer Tax Credit (up to €1,950), the increase in the band is not allowed for that year.
Extra credits
A credit comes off the tax itself, not off your pay. The rent tax credit is up to €1,000 for a single person. On €60,000 it cuts income tax from €11,200 to €10,200, which adds €1,000 to your take home, euro for euro. Credits cannot take your tax below zero, and they do nothing to USC or PRSI.
Emergency tax
If your employer has no RPN for you, they have to use the emergency basis. It gives no tax credits and takes a flat 8% USC. Without a PPSN, all of your pay is taxed at 40%. With a PPSN you get the single person band for the first 4 weeks, then everything is taxed at 40% from week 5. The weeks count from the day you started, even if you do not work every week.
| €60,000 salary, as if it ran all year | Income tax | USC | Take home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal basis | €11,200 | €1,333 | €3,744 |
| Emergency, first 4 weeks | €15,200 | €4,800 | €3,121 |
| Emergency, week 5 onwards | €24,000 | €4,800 | €2,388 |
That is a deduction rate, not what you owe. With a cumulative RPN your employer refunds the income tax and USC you overpaid on your next pay day. On a week 1 RPN they cannot refund until they receive a cumulative one. If you are unemployed you can claim the refund directly from Revenue.
Two jobs
You can leave all your credits and bands with your main job, divide them between jobs any way you want, or move unused credits and bands to your other job. This does not change your total tax. It only spreads the benefit so you are not overtaxed in one job and undertaxed in the other.
At the end of the year
Your Employment Detail Summary, which replaced the P60, shows your pay and the income tax, PRSI and USC your employer deducted. It is in myAccount about a month after the tax year ends. It records what was deducted, so check your credits on the certificate.
What credits do not change
On €60,000 USC is €1,333 and PRSI is €2,543 in every row of the first table. Only income tax moves. Try your own situation, extra credits or emergency tax in the calculator, or see the €60,000 salary page.
Keep reading
How Irish income tax worksUniversal Social Charge (USC) explainedPRSI explainedHow a pension changes your take home pay