Revenue eBrief No. 269/23

22 December 2023

Universal Social Charge

Tax and Duty Manual Part 18D-00-01 – Universal Social Charge – has been updated to reflect the following changes resulting from the passing of Finance Act (No. 2) 2023:

Paragraph 4 has been updated to account for the increase in the USC rate thresholds in line with increases to the National Minimum Wage and the reduction of the 4.5% USC rate to 4%.

Paragraph 11.5 has been updated to reflect that from 1 January 2024, gains realised by the exercise/assignment/release of a right to acquire shares are treated as notional payments and USC is collected under the PAYE system by the employer.

The following USC exempt payments have been added to the list of exemptions in paragraph 12.2:

• Section 192JB – Electricity costs emergency benefit and submeter support scheme payments 
• Section 192O – Clinical Placement Allowance to student nurses and midwives
• Section 192P – Allowance for maternity-related administrative support to local authority members
• Section 205B – Mother and Baby Institution payments

Paragraph 13 has been updated to confirm that the reduced rate of USC for medical card holders has been extended for two further years, to the 2025 year of assessment.