Calculating your Income Tax

How tax credits work

Tax credits reduce the amount of tax you pay. You must have paid tax in your employment in order to use tax credits.

Note

You can claim additional tax credits you may be due for 2024. You can make a claim by clicking on the 'Manage Your Tax 2024' link under the 'PAYE Services' section 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 2024' link under the 'PAYE services' section 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
  • or
  • carry unused tax credits into another tax year.

Next: What is a Tax Credit Certificate?