Emergency Tax
How to stop paying Emergency Tax
Emergency Tax rates will be applied to your gross pay by your employer where:
When your employer has your PPSN and your job has been registered with Revenue, they can then request a Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN). This will show your total tax credits, Income Tax rate band and Universal Social Charge (USC) rate band.
Once your employer can download an RPN for you, they can then make the correct tax deductions from your pay and cease Emergency Tax. If appropriate, your employer may also refund any Income Tax or USC that was over-deducted.
You will continue to be taxed on an emergency basis until your employer receives an RPN for you.
What to do if it is your first job in the State
If you do not have a PPSN, please contact the Department of Social Protection (DSP) to request one. When you have received your PPSN, you can then register for myAccount to access Revenue’s online services and register your first job with us.
To register your first job on myAccount, click ‘Add Job or Pension Details’, under the ‘PAYE Services’ tab. You will then need to provide your:
- PPSN
- employer’s Tax Registration Number
- employment commencement date.
Once you have successfully registered your job and provided your PPSN to your employer, an RPN will be made available to them. Your employer will not apply Emergency Tax rates when they receive your RPN.
If you were on Emergency Tax, your employer will refund any overpaid Income Tax and USC through payroll once a cumulative RPN is made available.
What to do if it is a second (or multiple) job
You might start a second job, in addition to your existing job. If you do, you need to provide your PPSN to your new employer so they can register your second employment with Revenue.
You can use myAccount to check that all your jobs are registered with Revenue. This can be done by clicking on 'Managing Tax for the current year' under the 'PAYE Services' section.
You can also use myAccount to allocate your tax credits and rate band between your existing job and your new job. Your new employer will then receive an RPN which will instruct them on the correct tax deductions to make. For further information, please see Splitting tax credits and rate bands between jobs.
Next: How to get a refund of Emergency Tax