Pay
Emergency tax: why it happens, how to stop it, and getting it back
Last updated 16 October 2026
With no Revenue Payroll Notification, your employer must tax you at up to 40% with no credits and 8% USC. How to fix it, and when the refund comes.
Emergency tax is what your employer must apply when Revenue hasn't given them a Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) for you. Without an RPN, payroll doesn't know your tax credits or your 20% band, so the law sets a default that usually takes far too much.
Why it happens
- you haven't given your employer your PPS number
- it's your first job in Ireland and you haven't registered it in myAccount (your employer can't do this for a first job)
- you started a new job and the employer hasn't yet downloaded your RPN
How much is taken
| Situation (2026) | Income tax | USC |
|---|---|---|
| No PPS number given | 40% of all pay, no credits | 8% of all pay |
| PPS number given, weekly pay, weeks 1 to 4 | 20% up to €846.16 a week, 40% above, no credits | 8% of all pay |
| PPS number given, monthly pay, first month | 20% up to €3,666.67, 40% above, no credits | 8% of all pay |
| PPS number given, after that | 40% of all pay, no credits | 8% of all pay |
PRSI is charged as normal. The weeks are counted from your first day with that employer, even weeks you didn't work. Revenue's figures for 2027 aren't published yet. Its rule is 1/52 of the single person's band, which would be €894.24 a week on Budget 2027's band.
How to stop it
- Give your employer your PPS number.
- If it's your first job in Ireland, sign in to myAccount and register it under 'Jobs and Pensions'.
- Ask your employer to request your RPN. Once they have it, the next payslip uses your normal credits and band.
- Check your Tax Credit Certificate in myAccount: it should show your credits and the cumulative basis.
When the money comes back
On the cumulative basis, your employer recalculates the whole year from 1 January on the first pay day after the RPN arrives. The overpaid income tax and USC comes back in that payslip. Credits count from 1 January even if you started later, so the refund can be large.
Take someone who starts a first job on 4 June 2026 at €900 a week and gives their PPS number. They are on emergency tax for five weeks and pay €1,483.08 in income tax and USC over those weeks. On their normal credits they would have paid €22.50. The difference, €1,460.58, comes back on the sixth pay day.
If your RPN is on the Week 1 basis, your employer can't make that refund. Ask Revenue through MyEnquiries to move you to cumulative, or claim it on your Income Tax Return after the year ends. If you've left the job, claim it directly through myAccount.
Work it out
Sources
- Revenue: Emergency Tax rules (checked 25/10/2026)
- Revenue: Emergency basis (employer guidance) (checked 25/10/2026)
- Revenue: The Emergency Basis of Tax and USC Deduction, 2022 to 2026 (checked 25/10/2026)
- Revenue: How to get a refund of Emergency Tax (checked 16/10/2026)
General information, not tax advice. HeyPenny is not a tax agent.