Calculating your Income Tax
How tax credits work
Tax credits reduce the amount of tax you pay. You must have paid tax due to your employment in order to use tax credits.
Note
You can claim additional tax credits you may be due for 2023. You can make a claim by clicking on the 'Manage your tax 2023' link in 'PAYE Services' in myAccount.
If you are an employee, you can see your tax credits on your Tax Credit Certificate.
Revenue will notify your employer of your total tax credits. Revenue will not give them a breakdown of your tax credits, only the total amount. Your employer will use this to calculate the amount of tax to deduct from your pay.
Under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, tax credits are spread evenly throughout the year. If you are working for the full year, your tax credits will be divided into:
- 52 equal weekly amounts, if you are paid weekly
- 26 equal fortnightly amounts, if you are paid fortnightly
- 12 equal monthly amounts, if you are paid monthly
- 13 equal amounts, if you are paid every four weeks.
If you have a second job or multiple employments, you can divide your tax credits between them. You can do this by clicking on the 'Manage your tax 2023' link in 'PAYE services' in myAccount.
Unused tax credits
Unused tax credits in a pay period are carried forward to a later pay period or periods in the same tax year.
You cannot:
- get a refund for unused tax credits
- carry unused tax credits into another tax year.
- Example 1
Gemma is single and a PAYE employee. She is entitled to claim Single Person Tax Credit and the Employee Tax Credit.
Gemma’s tax credits for 2023
|
Credits
|
Amount
|
|
Single Person Tax Credit
|
€1,775
|
|
Employee Tax Credit
|
€1,775
|
|
Total tax credits
|
€3,550
|
Gemma has a weekly tax credit amount of €68.27 (€3,550/52). Her employer has been notified by Revenue of this amount.
- Example 2
James is a PAYE employee. He is married to Claire and is taxed under joint assessment. Claire does not have an income. They have dependent children and Claire receives Child Benefit for them.
James can claim Married Person’s Tax Credit, Employee Tax Credit and Home Carer Tax Credit.
James' tax credits for 2023
|
Credits
|
Value
|
|
Married Person’s Tax Credit
|
€3,550
|
|
Employee Tax Credit
|
€1,775
|
|
Home Carer Tax Credit
|
€1,700
|
|
Total tax credits
|
€7,025
|
James has a weekly tax credit amount of €135.10 (€7,025/52). His employer has been notified by Revenue of this amount.
Next: What is a Tax Credit Certificate?