Finance & Irish taxes · Calculator companion · By K Imports
Salary & PAYE: practical guide
This guide explains how to use the Count.ie salary & paye. Income tax, USC, PRSI and private-pension or MyFutureFund deductions for one or two PAYE earners. Follow the inputs, method and worked example below, then compare your own scenario.
Guide written .
Open the Salary & PAYE calculatorWhat to prepare
- Have a recent payslip or contract to hand, and confirm whether pay is gross.
- Select the tax year and your credits from your tax credit certificate.
- Note any pension contribution and whether it is a percentage of pay.
Understand the inputs
- Tax rules
Options: 2026 — published rules; 2027 — Budget announcement (limited scope).
- PRSI planning basis
- Full-year estimates blend the January–September and October–December rates. A planning date uses that date's rate for an annualised projection, not a full-calendar-year bill.
Options: Full-year average; Planning date.
- Salary planning date
- Dates in 2026 or 2027 select the matching tax-year profile automatically. Scheduled Class A PRSI becomes 4.5% on 1 October 2027. Check both earners' ages for the selected year. This is not exact payslip or part-year modelling.
Shown when PRSI planning basis is date.
- Tax assessment
Options: Single; Married / civil partnership, joint assessment.
- Partner’s annual gross salary (€)
Shown when Tax assessment is married.
- Your age reached during the selected tax year
- Age reached on your birthday during the selected tax year. People born before 1 January 1958 retain their PRSI exemption (age 69+ in 2026; 70+ in 2027). Mid-year changes are not prorated.
- Your pension mode
- Compare a private employee pension with the State auto-enrolment scheme. MyFutureFund assumes no qualifying payroll pension in this employment; this is not an actual scheme-switching or enrolment decision.
Options: Private pension; MyFutureFund.
- Your annual employee pension (€)
Shown when Your pension mode is private.
- Your MyFutureFund collection assumption
- Annual approximation caps earnings at €80,000. Even monthly assumes one employment, evenly paid and enrolled all year; the entire threshold-crossing pay run is included. Monthly averages are not payslip deductions.
Shown when Your pension mode is myfuturefund.
Options: Annual approximation; Even monthly / full year.
- Your confirmed voluntary MyFutureFund enrolment (if outside automatic criteria)
- Only select for confirmed voluntary enrolment. Automatic criteria here are age 23–59 and gross at least €20,000; voluntary enrolment requires age 18–65. Actual NAERSA enrolment and PRSI eligibility are not verified.
Shown when Your pension mode is myfuturefund.
- Partner’s age reached during the selected tax yearAdvanced
- Age reached on your birthday during the selected tax year. People born before 1 January 1958 retain their PRSI exemption (age 69+ in 2026; 70+ in 2027). Mid-year changes are not prorated.
Shown when Tax assessment is married.
- Partner’s pension modeAdvanced
Shown when Tax assessment is married.
Options: Private pension; MyFutureFund.
- Partner’s annual pension (€)Advanced
Shown when Tax assessment is married and Partner’s pension mode is private.
- Partner’s MyFutureFund collection assumptionAdvanced
Shown when Tax assessment is married and Partner’s pension mode is myfuturefund.
Options: Annual approximation; Even monthly / full year.
- Partner’s confirmed voluntary MyFutureFund enrolment (if outside automatic criteria)Advanced
Shown when Tax assessment is married and Partner’s pension mode is myfuturefund.
- Confirmed total annual tax credits (€)Advanced
- For joint assessment, enter combined credits. Use a confirmed Revenue figure.
Shown when Use confirmed annual tax credits is true.
- Partner has full medical cardAdvanced
Shown when Tax assessment is married.
- Partner’s State Pension (Contributory) awarded for the full-year estimateAdvanced
Shown when Tax assessment is married.
The calculation method
Progressive income tax less eligible credits and age relief, plus separate USC and employee PRSI for each earner. Full-year PRSI blends the in-year rates; a planning date annualises the rate applicable on that date, with weekly credits and exemptions retained. Pension relief is limited by age and earnings for private contributions; MyFutureFund employee deductions receive no tax relief.
Worked example
Illustrative inputs and their result.
Example inputs
- Tax rules
- 2026 — published rules
- PRSI planning basis
- Full-year average
- Your annual gross salary (€)
- 55000
- Tax assessment
- Single
- Your age reached during the selected tax year
- 35
- Your pension mode
- Private pension
- Your annual employee pension (€)
- 0
- Use confirmed annual tax credits
- No
- Full medical card (not GP-only)
- No
- State Pension (Contributory) awarded for the full-year estimate
- No
- Apply age 65+ income exemption (all income entered)
- No
- Dependent children for age exemption
- 0
Calculated example result
- Take-home pay per month
- €3,523.88
- Income tax per year
- €9,200.00
- USC per year
- €1,182.82
- PRSI per year
- €2,330.63
How to interpret the result
The take-home figure is a model of income tax, USC and PRSI on the pay entered. Your payslip is the authority; employers may apply cumulative or week-1 treatment.
Compare a payslip with the model for the same pay period, then change one assumption such as pension percentage.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Do not enter net pay as gross.
- Check pension and benefit-in-kind settings; they change taxable pay.
- Do not apply credits you are not entitled to.
Assumptions and sources
Choose published 2026 rules or the Budget 2027 announcement profile. The 2027 profile cannot verify USC above €70,044 per earner and shows no guessed result. A salary planning date selects the supported year automatically: scheduled Class A PRSI is 4.5% from 1 October 2027, not throughout 2027. Date-based totals are annualised projections, not full-calendar-year liabilities; later tax years are unsupported. Enter age reached during the selected year. Each earner can compare private pension deductions with MyFutureFund at 2026–2028 rates. MyFutureFund defaults to a labelled annual approximation; evenly monthly/full-year collection is optional. Monthly figures are annual averages, not payslips. NAERSA enrolment, multiple jobs, partial years and actual payroll credit allocation are not verified. Benefits in kind are excluded.
Rules checked . Baseline rules year: 2026. Reviewed scope: Revenue 2026 standard PAYE bands/credits and USC bands; DSP Class A employee rates through September and from 1 October 2026.. This does not verify every selectable year, date or Budget announcement profile.
Sources and further information
- Revenue tax bands and credits
- Budget 2027 announced tax measures
- DSP PRSI pension and pre-1958 transitional rules (reviewed 6 October 2026)
- DSP Class A PRSI rates
- DSP PRSI roadmap: October effective dates (schedule checked 9 October 2026)
- MyFutureFund 2026–2028 contributions (checked 9 October 2026)
- MyFutureFund participant handbook: net-pay deductions and State top-up instead of tax relief
- DSP MyFutureFund threshold-crossing pay-run examples
- MyFutureFund statutory enrolment criteria
If your case falls outside this scope, use a more suitable calculator or contact us about an unclear method.