Shares from work
Restricted stock units (RSUs): payroll tax at vesting, Capital Gains Tax when you sell
Last updated 16 October 2026
RSUs are taxed as pay when they vest, at up to 52.2% in 2026 through payroll. A later sale is taxed separately under Capital Gains Tax, which you pay yourself.
A restricted stock unit (RSU) is a promise of shares once you meet a condition, usually staying with the employer for a set time. Nothing is taxed when the RSUs are granted. Tax arises in two stages: when they vest, and when you sell the shares.
At vesting: taxed as pay
The market value of the shares on the vesting date is treated as pay. Your employer deducts income tax, USC and employee PRSI through payroll, at your rates for the year, as if it were a bonus. Employer PRSI isn't charged on shares in your employer or its parent. Dollar shares are converted to euro at the rate on the vesting date (Revenue's Share Schemes Manual, chapter 2).
Someone earning €85,000 has 200 RSUs vest on 16 March 2026 at $150 a share, when a euro buys $1.08:
| Value at vesting, in euro | €27,777.78 |
| Income tax | €11,111.11 |
| USC | €2,222.22 |
| Employee PRSI | €1,166.67 |
| Tax through payroll | €14,500.00 |
That is 52.2% of the value: 40% income tax, 8% USC and 4.2% PRSI. This is the ‘52%’ people talk about. Someone earning €40,000 would pay 44.32% on the same shares, as part falls in the 20% band and the lower USC rates.
How the tax is paid
Most employers use sell to cover: enough shares are sold at vesting to pay the tax, and you receive the rest. Some deduct the tax from your salary instead. On your payslip the value usually appears as share-based or notional pay: added to taxable pay, but not paid in cash. Revenue lets employers wait up to 60 days after vesting for the shares to settle before paying the tax over.
Do you still owe anything?
If payroll used your correct tax credits and rate band, the tax at vesting is final and there is nothing more to pay on it. Check the year's figures in myAccount. What payroll doesn't cover is:
- Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on a later sale, which you pay and declare yourself;
- dividends on shares you keep, which go on your tax return.
When you sell: CGT
Your cost for CGT is the euro value at vesting, the amount already taxed as pay, not zero. Selling on the vesting day at that price gives no gain. In the example the shares are sold on 20 November 2026 at $185, with a euro buying $1.10:
| Sale proceeds in euro | €33,636.36 |
| Less cost: value at vesting | (€27,777.78) |
| Gain | €5,858.58 |
| Less annual exemption | (€1,270.00) |
| CGT at 31% | €1,422.46 |
Pay by 15 December for sales from January to November, or 31 January for December sales. File a return by 31 October of the next year. See RSU cost basis for sales of shares from several vests.
To work out payroll tax and CGT on your own vests and sales, use the shares from work calculator.
Work it out
Sources
- Revenue: Share awards and RSUs (taxed through PAYE; no employer PRSI on share-settled awards) (checked 20/10/2026)
- Revenue: How to calculate CGT (checked 25/10/2026)
- Revenue: When and how do you pay and file CGT? (checked 25/10/2026)
- Revenue: eBrief No. 142/26: CGT standard rate reduced to 31% from 7 October 2026 (checked 25/10/2026)
- Revenue: Standard rates and thresholds of USC (checked 25/10/2026)
General information, not tax advice. HeyPenny is not a tax agent.