Understanding Your Payslip

Wondering what all those terms mean on your payslip? We've listed out the most common ones that appear on your payslip and their meanings.

If you're confused by what all those terms on your PAYE payslip mean, don’t worry, you’re not alone!

We want to help with all those confusing terms so we've listed them out for you below.

Sample Payslip:

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1. PPS Number

Your Personal Public Service (PPS) number is a unique number used by the Irish Government to identify you for tax purposes or when you need to access social welfare benefits and public services.

2. PRSI Class

Your PRSI Class is usually determined by your employment and dictates what PRSI contributions you’ll pay.

3. Weekly/monthly cut off

This is the figure you can earn up to every time you’re paid before you pay the higher rate of tax. Each time you’re paid, you pay tax at the standard rate of tax up to your standard rate cut-off point.

4. PAYE

This is the 'Pay As You Earn’ income tax.

5. Tax Credit

A tax credit is the amount of money that can be deducted from the tax you pay. You’re entitled to tax credits based on your personal circumstances and they are allocated to you each year. Any unused credits are forwarded to your next pay period(s).

6. PRSI

PRSI is ‘Pay Related Social Insurance’ which contributes to social welfare benefits and pensions. Most people working in Ireland pay this with very few exceptions.

The amount of PRSI you pay is dictated by the type of employment, your earnings, and what PRSI class you’re in. In some cases, you may be entitled to a refund.

7. USC

USC or the ‘Universal Social Charge’ is a tax that was introduced in January 2011 to replace the income levy and health levy. You’ll pay this if your gross income is over €12,012 per year.

8. Gross Pay

This is the total amount that you’re paid before deductions.

9. Net Pay

This is the amount you’re paid each time after tax, PRSI, and other deductions.

10. Total Deds

The total amount of deductions in each pay period.

The average Irish tax refund is €1,880

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So..how is your tax calculated?

Each time you’re paid, your employer applies PAYE tax based on information from Revenue on your employee tax credit certificate.

If Revenue doesn’t have up-to-date information on your personal circumstances (marital status, dependents, etc.), this could result in the incorrect allocation of bands and credits.

So for example, if you get married or enter into a civil partnership, you should inform Revenue as quickly as possible because you could end up paying more tax than you need to! In this case, you could claim some tax back.

Underpayments of tax

An underpayment of tax could happen if you’ve been wrongly allocated tax credits. Revenue will usually seek reimbursement over the following year by making an adjustment to your tax credits.

What does that mean?

Your take-home pay will be reduced until the underpayment is settled. If Revenue fails to notice underpayments for several years then you could be faced with a much higher tax bill.

What can you do?

When you get your next payslip, see what it says for your monthly/weekly tax credit and cut off point. Multiply this by 12 or 52 to calculate your annual tax credit and cut-off point.

The most common tax credits/cut-off points for 2015:

	Cut Off	Credit:
Single person or married person both spouses working	€33,800	€3,300
Married person one spouse working (no dependents)	€42,800	€4,950
Married person one spouse working (with at least one child)	€42,800	€5,760

If your tax credits are higher or lower than what they should be, you should request a copy of your tax credit certificate from Revenue. This should make it clear if any adjustments need to be made.