Summary

Ireland has a comprehensive social security system which provides a range of old age, invalidity, sickness, unemployment and other social benefits, including family allowances and income guarantees. Entitlement to benefits generally derives from and individual’s contribution history, although some benefits arise due to residence in Ireland.

Details

Contributions

Employer PRSI contributions are uncapped and charged at €2,583 per year (€2,626 from 1 October 2026), plus 11.25% of remuneration (11.4% from 1 October 2026) over €28,700 per year.

Employee contributions are 4.2% of total pay above €18,304 per year (4.35% from October 2026), Both employer and employee contributions are scheduled to keep rising until 2028, when they will reach 11.75% and 4.7% respectively.

In addition, the Universal Social Charge (USC) is levied at graduated rates on the total earnings of employees with income of more than €13,000 per year. Income over €70,000 per year is charged at 8% . There is also a 3% USC surcharge if non-PAYE income (self-employment income) is over €100,000 per year.

A 45% USC surcharge is payable on bonuses over €20,000 paid to employees of financial institutions that received financial support from the Irish Government.

Treaties

Ireland has social security agreements with all European Economic Area countries and 9 other non-EEA countries, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and Japan. These agreements determine which country levies social security contributions, provides benefits, and prevent social security being levied twice on the same income. Most inbounds expatriates to Ireland therefore continue to pay home country social security and are exempt from Irish PRSI contributions, and most Irish outbounds remain liable. The UK Ireland social security agreement allows that for UK/Ireland moves, home country coverage can continue for five years, with special rules applying to individuals working in the UK and Ireland on a regular basis. A similar rule applies to multi-state workers working in Ireland and the rest of the EEA on a regular basis.

USC remains payable in Ireland even for those assigned there with a certificate of coverage or an A1, so in effect there is an element of double social security contribution.  

Exemptions

Ireland operates a 52 week exemption from PRSI contributions for individuals assigned into the country from outside the EU or other social security agreement country. Conversely, Irish employees leaving Ireland to go on assignment to a non-agreement country have a continuing liability to PRSI for the first 52 weeks of their assignment.

Administration

PRSI and USC payments are both administered through payroll and a single employee payment is made to the Collector General for both elements, covering both employer and employee contributions. These payments are due within 14 days of the end of the tax month, mirroring the UK payroll process.

Benefits

The state pension is the core of the Irish social security system, and entitlements are based on years of contributions. Other welfare benefits are also derived from PRSI payments. Universal Social Charge contributions, despite their name, do not provide any specific benefit entitlements and are, effectively, an additional employment tax.

Other

The availability of the exemption from PRSI for the first 52 weeks of an assignment to Ireland, as opposed to a local hire arrangement, generally makes assignments more cost-effective for individuals moving from non-agreement countries. Expatriates from high-cost social security countries such as France can realise considerable savings through being hired locally.

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