PAYE for Irish Employers: Revenue Payroll Notifications and Reporting

If you employ people in Ireland, PAYE is not a once-a-month calculation that you settle after the event. Since 1 January 2019, employers have reported pay and deductions to Revenue on or before the date they pay their staff, using a Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) for each employee. This guide explains the moving parts in plain language for employers and payroll teams, including those running payroll for Dublin-based staff, and it points you to the official Revenue pages for anything that changes year to year.

PRSI is reported in the same payroll submission, so it helps to read this alongside our guide to employer PRSI and payroll obligations. This guide does not set out tax rates, bands, credits or thresholds. Those change, and the right source on the day is Revenue. Where we mention a date or figure from a Revenue page, we say which page and when it was published.

What PAYE real-time reporting means

Revenue's Employers' Guide to PAYE (Tax and Duty Manual Part 42-04-35A, last reviewed September 2026) states that, from 1 January 2019, employers must report pay and statutory deductions to Revenue on or before the date they pay employees. The guide explains that the "date paid" is when the funds become available to the employee: the handover date for cash, the date on the cheque for a cheque, and the scheduled availability date for a bank transfer.

A payroll submission is the report you send. According to the guide, it must include pay for income tax purposes, the tax deducted, Universal Social Charge (USC), PRSI and Local Property Tax details, and share-based remuneration and taxable benefits-in-kind are reported in their own fields. The same guide notes that employers must file and pay electronically unless they hold an e-filing exemption, and that submissions can be made through payroll software or the ROS online form.

Registering as an employer

Revenue's page on registering for PAYE (published 10 November 2025) says employers who operate PAYE must register, and that Revenue can register a business itself if it believes it should be registered. Online registration (eRegistration) requires you to be registered first for either the Revenue Online Service (ROS) or myAccount. Paper forms exist for people who cannot use eRegistration; the page lists separate forms depending on whether the applicant is an individual, sole trader or partnership, a company, a non-resident, or a person already registered for income tax or corporation tax.

The Employers' Guide adds that employers must register and deduct PAYE, USC and PRSI when they first pay emoluments, and that a company must register even where its only employees are its directors. It also says Revenue can register an employer compulsorily, with a right of appeal to the Tax Appeals Commission, and that employers must tell Revenue if they stop having employees. Check the guide for the time limits and any exceptions, such as the one for a single domestic worker, because they are set out in detail there.

The Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN)

The RPN is the employer's copy of the employee's tax credit certificate. The Employers' Guide states that employers must use the most up-to-date RPN when calculating deductions. Our suggestion: do not rely on a figure your payroll system stored last month if a newer RPN is available.

Revenue's page on beginning the tax year (published 20 January 2026) says an RPN for the coming year is made available to employers in December each year. It also says an employee has no RPN if they are not registered with Revenue for PAYE or have not provided a PPSN. If no RPN is available in the new tax year, the employer must apply the emergency basis to that employee's pay until one is available. The same page says employers must deduct tax, pay it to Revenue and report pay and deductions on or before paying employees, whether or not an RPN is available.

For new starters, Revenue's page on commencing and ceasing employees (published 30 October 2025) explains the sequence:

• Request an RPN for the new employee before their first payday, through payroll software or ROS. Revenue says RPNs are available in real time for new employees.
• Include the correct start date in the payroll submission.
• If the employee has no PPSN or is working in the State for the first time, no RPN is available. The page says the employee must first register their employment through myAccount, after which you can request an RPN.

Leavers, casual staff and year changes

The same Revenue page says that when an employee leaves, goes on a career break or dies while employed, the final payroll submission should include the date of leaving. It warns that delays could mean a new employer receives a nil RPN, which could lead to emergency tax deductions. For a casual employee who has not been paid for three months, the page says to submit a payroll with nil pay and nil deductions and to enter the last day worked as the date of leaving.

Revenue's page on payroll submissions at the year change (published 29 September 2026) states that payment dates from two different tax years cannot be included in the same payroll submission, and that you should not file a submission with a pay date in the new year until the RPN for that year is available. It also says an employee's Employment ID should stay the same from year to year. Where an employee has no PPSN, an employer reference number must be used and kept unchanged; once a PPSN is issued, it should be included alongside the employer reference number on the next submission.

Paying over what you have deducted

Reporting and paying are separate steps. Revenue's page on returns and payment due dates (published 30 October 2025) says each remitter type files a monthly return, and that monthly remitters pay 14 days after the end of the month, with a longer period of 23 days for ROS users who file and pay online. It also says quarterly and annual remitters receive a monthly statement, and that if they take no action it is treated as their return by the 14th of the following month. These dates are shown on a dated page and may change, so check the page on the day.

The Employers' Guide notes that where PAYE, USC and PRSI deductions are not made, Revenue may issue a formal notice of assessment for the amounts not remitted. This guide does not cover the penalty provisions in detail; the guide's chapters on penalties are the place to look.

Benefits, expenses and enhanced reporting

Some payments are not taxed through payroll but must still be reported. The Employers' Guide lists three groups under Enhanced Reporting Requirements: travel and subsistence payments, the remote working daily allowance, and small benefit exemption items. It states the employer is responsible for confirming that each payment meets the qualifying criteria. Taxable benefits-in-kind are reported in their own fields on the payroll submission, so it is worth understanding how they interact with payroll. Our guide to benefit in kind for Irish employers covers that side.

Records and who should own the process

The Employers' Guide mentions that employers must keep a register of employees, on paper or electronically, and that records supporting subsistence reimbursements must be kept for six years unless Revenue states otherwise. Chapter-level detail on other records is in the guide itself.

Our suggestion: assign one named person (and a deputy) to own the payroll calendar. List the pay dates, the date each submission must be filed, and the monthly payment date, and note who requests the RPN for each new starter before their first payday. Keep the ROS submission reference you receive after each filing with your payroll records, since the ROS help guide says a Payroll Run Reference and Submission ID are issued on submission. Also, managers who hire staff should get the start date and PPSN to payroll before the first payday, because payroll needs them to request the RPN. If you run in-person induction for new managers, consider including this hand-off; our guide to employment law training in Dublin for HR managers may help you think about what such training should cover.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

When must an employer submit payroll to Revenue?

According to Revenue's Employers' Guide to PAYE, pay and statutory deductions must be reported on or before the date employees are paid. The date paid is when the funds become available to the employee.

What is an RPN?

A Revenue Payroll Notification is the employer's copy of an employee's tax credit certificate. Revenue says employers must use the most up-to-date RPN to calculate deductions, and should request one for a new employee before the first payday.

What happens if there is no RPN for an employee?

Revenue says that where no RPN is available, the emergency basis applies until one is. No RPN is available where the employee has no PPSN or is working in the State for the first time, until their employment has been registered through myAccount.

Do I need to tell Revenue when someone leaves?

Yes. Revenue says the final payroll submission should include the date of leaving, so the employee's next employer receives correct information on their RPN.

Where can I check current rules and deadlines?

Revenue's employer pages and the Employers' Guide to PAYE. Rates, credits and filing dates can change, so check them on the day you run payroll.

This guide is general information based on the Revenue pages named above and is not tax advice. Confirm your position with Revenue or a qualified adviser.