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Starting your first job

  1. Overview
  2. What you should do
  3. How your tax is calculated
  4. Cumulative basis
  5. Week 1 basis
  6. Benefits from your employer

Week 1 basis

You may receive a Tax Credit Certificate (TCC) on the Week 1 basis (also known as the ‘non-cumulative basis’). This means that your employer will deduct Income Tax and Universal Social Charge (USC) from your pay on a week-to-week basis. Your yearly tax credits and rate bands are not backdated to the 1 January and do not accumulate for each pay period. Your employer cannot make any refunds of Income Tax or USC that may be due to you until a ‘cumulative’ TCC is issued.

You can contact Revenue to find out why you are on the Week 1 basis, by using the MyEnquiries service in myAccount.

If you are still on week 1 basis at the end of the year, you should submit an Income Tax Return. You can find an Income Tax Return in ‘PAYE Services’ in myAccount. We will then review your tax position for the year.

Week 1 basis is used for various reasons, for example, where:

  • there is a large reduction in your tax credits that may result in hardship for you
  • there is a lack of information about your prior employments or earnings in the current tax year
  • you have come from abroad to work in Ireland but we do not know how long you plan to stay
  • you transfer your tax credits and rate band to your spouse or civil partner
  • you do not want your new employer to know the details of your previous employments, pay and tax.
  • Example

    John is a PAYE employee. He is single, and these are his tax credits and rate band for 2023:

    Tax credits and rate bands

    Description

    		 Value
    Single Person’s Tax Credit

    €1,775
    PAYE Tax Credit

    €1,775
    Total tax credits

    €3,550 per year (€68.27 per week)
    Rate band

    €40,000 per year (€769.23 per week)

    John was given a tax credit certificate showing these tax credits and rate band and showing that Week 1 Basis applies. A Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) was made available to his employer with the total amounts.

    John earns €600 per week. This is how his weekly tax is calculated: 

    John's weekly tax calculation for pay day 14 January 2023
    Description IncomeTaxExplanation
    Taxed at 20% €600 €120.00 Apply the standard rate of 20% up to the limit of the rate band

    (€769.23) on the RPN
    Taxed at 40% €0 €0 As John’s income (€600) is less than his rate band (€769.23), he does not pay tax at the higher rate of 40% this week
    Gross tax   €120.00 Add the amount of tax at the standard rate to the amount of tax at the higher rate (if any)
    Less tax credits   €68.27 Take away the tax credits as shown on the Tax Credit Certificate
    Tax payable   €51.73 Gross tax less tax credits.
    John's weekly tax calculation for pay day 21 January 2023
    Description IncomeTaxExplanation
    Taxed at 20% €600 €120.00 Apply the standard rate of 20% up to the limit of the rate band (€769.23) on the RPN
    Taxed at 40% €0 €0 As John’s income (€600) is less than his rate band (€769.23), he does not pay tax at the higher rate of 40% this week
    Gross tax   €120.00 Add the amount of tax at the standard rate to the amount of tax at the higher rate (if any)
    Less tax credits   €68.27 Take away the tax credits as shown on the Tax Credit Certificate
    Tax payable   €51.73 Gross tax less tax credits.

Next: Benefits from your employer

Published: 08 March 2023 Print this page

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