Irish taxes for Brits: income tax, USC, PRSI and what happens to your UK income

Ireland takes a bigger bite than the UK once you earn a decent salary, and it does its sums on a different calendar.

The short version

• Ireland's tax year is the calendar year, not 6 April to 5 April, which makes the year you move a bit of a faff.
• In 2026 you pay income tax at 20% on the first EUR 44,000 (about £36,660) for a single person and 40% above that, less tax credits [1].
• On top come the Universal Social Charge (USC), from 0.5% to 8% [2], and PRSI, 4.35% for most employees since 1 October 2026 [3].
• The UK–Ireland double taxation convention stops the same income being taxed twice, and generally lets Ireland tax pensions paid to Irish residents [4][5].
• Your UK State Pension keeps rising every April while you live in Ireland [6].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.2002), rounded.

Are you resident in Ireland?

Irish tax turns on three ideas: residence, ordinary residence and domicile. You can be any combination of the three, and they decide what Ireland taxes [7].

• Resident: broadly, you're resident for a tax year if you spend 183 days or more in Ireland in that year, or 280 days or more over that year and the one before (with at least 30 days in each).
• Ordinarily resident: you become ordinarily resident after three consecutive years of residence, and stay so until you've been non-resident for three years in a row.
• Domicile: roughly, your permanent home. Most Brits keep a UK domicile of origin for some time after moving.

Someone who is resident and domiciled in Ireland is taxed on worldwide income, subject to any double taxation relief [7]. A Brit who is resident but not Irish-domiciled can be taxed on foreign investment income only when it's brought into Ireland (the remittance basis), although Irish and UK employment income is taxed in full where the work is done here. This is detail territory, so a tax adviser who knows both countries can check your case.

The year you arrive

Because the UK year ends on 5 April and Ireland's on 31 December, your move will straddle two tax years in both countries. On the UK side, the Statutory Residence Test and split-year treatment decide when you stop paying UK tax as a resident. On the Irish side, there's a form of split-year relief for employment income in the year you arrive, if you're coming to stay. Our guides to the Statutory Residence Test and split-year treatment cover the UK side; tell HMRC you're leaving with a P85.

What you'll pay in 2026

Income tax

Source: Revenue, tax rates, bands and reliefs [1]. Changes for 2027 were announced in the Budget in October 2026, so check Revenue's page before January.

Tax credits work differently from the UK's personal allowance. Ireland taxes your income first and then knocks the credits off the bill. A single employee's EUR 4,000 of credits is worth roughly the same as having the first EUR 20,000 or so taxed at nothing. The big difference from home: the 40% rate starts at about £36,660 of income, well below where the higher rate kicks in back home in Blighty.

Universal Social Charge

Source: Revenue, USC rates and thresholds [2]. Very low incomes are exempt from USC altogether, and some groups pay reduced rates.

PRSI

PRSI is Ireland's social insurance, a bit like National Insurance. Most employees pay Class A. The employee rate went up from 4.2% to 4.35% on 1 October 2026, and employers pay 11.4% on most salaries [3]. Employees on EUR 352 a week (about £293) or less are exempt [3]. PRSI contributions build your entitlement to the Irish State Pension (Contributory) and other benefits.

If you work in Dublin for a UK employer, the question of whether you pay PRSI or UK National Insurance is a separate one; see our guide to working for a UK employer from Dublin.

The UK–Ireland tax treaty

The UK and Ireland have had a double taxation convention since 1976. It was amended by protocols, most recently in 1998, and by the multilateral instrument from 2019–2020 [4]. The UK government's own guide to living in Ireland points you to it, and to Revenue for double taxation relief questions [5].

How it usually works, in broad strokes:

1. Employment income is taxed where the work is done. Live and work in Dublin and Ireland taxes your salary.
2. Pensions, including private and workplace pensions, are generally taxed in the country where you live, so Ireland, not the UK. UK pension providers can stop deducting UK tax once HMRC agrees.
3. Government service pensions (from a UK civil service, armed forces or similar public scheme) are usually taxed by the UK instead. Your nationality can change this, so check if you're a dual British-Irish citizen.
4. UK rental income stays taxable in the UK, and Ireland taxes it too if you're resident, giving a credit for the UK tax. Register as a non-resident landlord (form NRL1) with HMRC so your letting agent doesn't deduct basic-rate tax.
5. Savings and investments: Ireland's rules on investment funds are notoriously complicated, with special "exit tax" rules for many funds and ETFs. Keeping a UK ISA after you move doesn't stop Ireland taxing the income and gains in it.

Our guides to double taxation agreements and reliefs, UK income while you live abroad and ISAs when you move abroad go deeper.

Your UK State Pension in Ireland

Good news first. Ireland is on DWP's list of countries where the UK State Pension goes up every April, so it won't freeze as it would in Australia or Canada [6].

Source: DWP benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027 [8].

The State Pension is paid without UK tax taken off. As an Irish resident, you declare it to Revenue and pay Irish income tax and USC on it, usually under the treaty rule for pensions. People over 70 or with low incomes pay reduced USC.

Your contributions in both countries also count. The UK and Ireland have a social security agreement, so years worked in Ireland can help you qualify for the Irish State Pension (Contributory), and UK years count too. Each country pays its own share. Our guide to the UK State Pension and the Irish State Pension explains how they fit together, and topping up with voluntary NI may still be worth a look.

UK workplace and private pensions

These stay where they are and pay out to you in Ireland, taxed in Ireland under the treaty. Moving a UK pension into an Irish scheme is a big decision. Pension transfers need regulated financial advice, and some overseas transfers face the 25% overseas transfer charge. See the FCA and MoneyHelper warnings on pension scams, and our guide to UK pensions abroad and the transfer warnings.

Getting it sorted

1. Before you go, send HMRC a P85 and keep a record of your leaving date.
2. Get your PPS number and register for Revenue myAccount so your employer gets a proper tax credit certificate rather than putting you on emergency tax.
3. Claim your tax credits and your share of the standard rate band in myAccount.
4. If you have UK rent, pensions or investments, file an Irish return each year, usually by 31 October, and keep the UK side tidy with HMRC.
5. Keep your paperwork: Revenue does sample checks, and the taxman back home sometimes asks questions too.

Plenty of Brits in Dublin have been through their first Irish tax year, and our community group for Brits in Ireland is a good place to compare notes, though not a substitute for a proper adviser.

Sources

1. Revenue: Tax rates, bands and reliefs
2. Revenue: USC rates and thresholds
3. gov.ie (Department of Social Protection): PRSI Class A rates (updated 10 June 2026)
4. GOV.UK (HMRC): Ireland tax treaties
5. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Ireland
6. GOV.UK (DWP): Countries where we pay an annual increase in the State Pension
7. Revenue: Tax residence
8. GOV.UK (DWP): Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027

Keep reading

• Working for a UK employer from Dublin: tax and PRSI
• The UK State Pension and the Irish State Pension
• PPS number, Revenue myAccount and your first weeks in Ireland
• Leaving the UK: telling HMRC (P85) and your last tax year