Your gross salary is never what lands in your account. Income tax, USC and PRSI come off first, and how much depends on what you earn and whether you're single, married or a one-parent family. Put your figures in below.
An estimate using 2026 rates, with the personal, employee, one-parent, home carer and age credits applied where they fit. It can't know about credits that depend on things we haven't asked, such as rent or medical expenses, so your payslip can differ. Check your own figures in Revenue myAccount.
20% on income up to your standard rate band, 40% on anything above. Your tax credits are then subtracted from the bill.
A separate charge on your income, from 0.5% to 8% depending on how much you earn. No credits apply to it.
4.2% of your pay, rising to 4.35% on 1 October 2026. This is what builds your entitlement to social welfare payments and the State Pension.
The "standard rate cut-off point" is how much you can earn at 20% before the 40% rate applies. It depends on your family situation:
| Your situation | Taxed at 20% up to | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Single person | €44,000 | 40% |
| One-parent family | €48,000 | 40% |
| Married / civil partners, one income | €53,000 | 40% |
| Married / civil partners, two incomes | €53,000 + up to €35,000 | 40% |
For a couple with two incomes, the band goes up by the amount of the lower income, to a maximum of €35,000. So the most a couple can have at 20% is €88,000. That extra part can't be passed to the other partner: if one of you earns very little, the unused part is simply lost.
Tax credits are taken off your tax bill, not off your income, so they're worth their full value. Nearly every employee gets these two automatically:
| Credit | 2026 value | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Personal tax credit, single | €2,000 | in the calculator |
| Personal tax credit, married / civil partners | €4,000 | in the calculator |
| Employee (PAYE) tax credit, each earner | €2,000 | in the calculator |
| Single Person Child Carer Credit | €1,900 | in the calculator |
| Home Carer Tax Credit | up to €1,950 | in the calculator |
| Age Tax Credit, 65 and over | €245 single, €490 married | in the calculator |
| Rent Tax Credit | up to €1,000 single, €2,000 couple | claim yourself |
| Incapacitated Child Credit | €3,800 | claim yourself |
| Dependent Relative Credit | €305 | claim yourself |
| Blind Tax Credit | €1,950 each | claim yourself |
A single employee therefore has €4,000 of credits: the first €4,000 of income tax is wiped out. That's why someone earning around €20,000 pays very little income tax.
The ones marked "claim yourself" depend on circumstances we can't ask about here, and they are not automatic. Revenue does not know you are renting or supporting a relative until you tell them, which is why so many people never get them. Check your list in Revenue myAccount, and you can claim back up to four years.
If you are married or in a civil partnership and jointly assessed, and one of you stays at home with a child or cares for a dependent person, there are two different reliefs available. You cannot have both in the same year, and which one is worth more depends entirely on what the carer earns.
Worth €1,950 off your tax bill if the carer earns €7,200 or less. Above that it drops by 50c for every euro earned, and at €11,100 it is gone.
Your €53,000 band goes up by whatever the lower income is, to a maximum of €35,000. Worth 20c in the euro on income that would otherwise be taxed at 40%.
The rule of thumb: when the carer earns very little, the credit wins, because a small second income only widens the band a small amount. As the carer's income grows the band increase grows with it while the credit shrinks, so at some point they cross over. Revenue works out both and grants whichever leaves you better off, and so does the calculator above. Tick the carer box and it will tell you which one it used.
One condition catches people out: the couple must be jointly assessed. If you are taxed as two single people, no Home Carer Credit is available at all. The dependent can be a child you get Child Benefit for, a person aged 65 or over, or someone permanently incapacitated, and a relative does not have to live with you provided they are within 2km with a direct way of contacting you.
Most calculators treat age as a footnote. It isn't. From 65 you stop being taxed the normal way if your income is modest: instead of bands and credits, there is an exemption limit, and below it you pay no income tax at all.
| Aged 65 or over | No income tax up to |
|---|---|
| Single, widowed or surviving civil partner | €18,000 |
| Married or civil partners | €36,000 |
| Each of your first two children, added on | €575 |
| Each child after that, added on | €830 |
Go slightly over the limit and you are not thrown straight back onto the normal rules. Marginal relief taxes only the amount above the limit, at 40%, and you give up your tax credits in exchange. That sounds harsh but it is often much cheaper, and it applies until your income reaches twice the exemption limit. Revenue grants whichever basis costs you less.
Two other things change with age, at different ages, which is why the calculator asks for a band rather than a yes or no. At 66 you stop paying PRSI entirely. At 70 you move to reduced USC, capped at 2%, provided your income is €60,000 or less. The exemption limits and the Age Tax Credit start at 65. None of these three line up, so it is easy to assume you are getting a break you are not yet entitled to.
Worth knowing: the exemption limits apply to income tax only. USC and PRSI are worked out separately and are not covered by them.
| Yearly income | Rate |
|---|---|
| First €12,012 | 0.5% |
| €12,012 – €28,700 | 2% |
| €28,700 – €70,044 | 3% |
| Above €70,044 | 8% |
You pay no USC at all if your total income for the year is €13,000 or less. Medical card holders and people aged 70+ earning under €60,000 pay a maximum of 2%.
Rate: 4.2% of your gross pay (Class A, most employees).
Earning €352 a week or less? You pay nothing, and you're still covered, because your employer pays on your behalf.
Just above the line? A tapered PRSI credit of up to €12 a week softens the jump for earnings between €352.01 and €424 a week.
Aged 66+? You stop paying PRSI.
Note: all PRSI rates rise by 0.15% on 1 October 2026, so the employee rate becomes 4.35% from that date.
The national minimum wage is the least you can legally be paid per hour. Younger workers can be paid a reduced rate:
| Age | Minimum per hour | Share of full rate |
|---|---|---|
| 20 and over | €14.15 | 100% |
| 19 | €12.74 | 90% |
| 18 | €11.32 | 80% |
| Under 18 | €9.91 | 70% |
Full time at €14.15 an hour is roughly €28,700 a year for a 39-hour week. Some jobs are covered by sector agreements that set higher minimum rates. If you're being paid less than the legal minimum, the Workplace Relations Commission handles complaints, for free.
The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act sets strict limits for under-18s. In short:
Cannot be employed at all.
Light work only. During school holidays: max 7 hours a day and 35 hours a week, with at least 21 days off during the summer. At 15 you can also do up to 8 hours a week during term time. At 14, no work during school term. No work before 8am or after 8pm.
Can work up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, normally not before 6am or after 10pm.
Adult rules apply: the full minimum wage from age 20, and a maximum average of 48 hours a week.
Employers must see a copy of the young person's birth certificate, and written parental consent is needed for under-16s.
You're legally entitled to a payslip showing your gross pay and every deduction. The words that confuse people most:
Every rate, band and credit on this page is taken from the official publication that sets it. Budget 2026 made no change to income tax rates, bands or credits, so the 2026 figures are the 2025 figures carried forward. The two worked examples are Revenue's own, and the calculator is tested against them.
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