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 standard 2026 rates and the personal and employee tax credits. It doesn't include every credit or relief you might be entitled to, 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. 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 |
|---|---|
| Personal tax credit, single | €2,000 |
| Personal tax credit, married / civil partners | €4,000 |
| Employee (PAYE) tax credit, each earner | €2,000 |
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.
There are many other credits, for example for one-parent families, home carers, rent, medical expenses or third-level fees. They're not in this calculator because they depend on your circumstances, and plenty of people never claim the ones they're owed. It's worth checking your list in Revenue myAccount, and you can claim back up to four years.
| 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:
Losing your job, or facing redundancy?