Pay
Comparing job offers: valuing the whole package, not the salary
Last updated 16 October 2026
A lower salary with a pension match and benefits can be worth more than a higher one. How each part of a package is taxed, with two offers compared.
Two offers with different salaries can be closer than they look, or further apart. What matters is what each part is worth to you after tax, and each part of a package is taxed differently.
How each part is taxed
- Salary and bonus: income tax, USC and PRSI through payroll. See how a bonus is taxed.
- Employer pension contributions: not taxed at all when paid into a work pension scheme or auto-enrolment, within the limits. The same goes for a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) or Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP). This is the most tax-efficient part of most packages.
- Your own pension contributions: relieved from income tax at your top rate, within age-related limits, but not from USC or PRSI.
- Health insurance and a company car: taxed as benefits in kind, so they cost you tax without putting cash in your account.
- Shares: taxed as pay when they vest or are bought at a discount. See employee shares.
- Vouchers and gifts: tax-free up to five a year worth €1,500 in all.
Two offers compared
Offer A pays €75,000, matches a 5% employee pension contribution with 8% from the employer, and includes health insurance worth €1,800 and €1,000 in vouchers. Offer B pays €82,000 with nothing else. For a single person aged 30 to 39 in 2026:
| Offer A | Offer B | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | €75,000.00 | €82,000.00 |
| Employer pension contribution | €6,000.00 | €0.00 |
| Health insurance | €1,800.00 | €0.00 |
| Vouchers | €1,000.00 | €0.00 |
| Total package | €83,800.00 | €82,000.00 |
| Income tax, USC and PRSI | €21,849.04 | €26,065.39 |
| What you keep | €61,950.96 | €55,934.61 |
| Of which: cash | €49,400.96 | €55,934.61 |
| Of which: pension, yours and your employer's | €9,750.00 | €0.00 |
Offer B puts €6,533.65 more in your bank account each year. But Offer A sends €9,750 into your pension, most of it untaxed, so what you keep in total is €6,016.35 higher with Offer A. Which is better depends on whether you need the cash now.
Other things to weigh
- Hours, commute and remote working: a longer commute costs time and money that a salary comparison misses.
- Bonus targets: count only what is likely, not the maximum.
- Shares: they can fall in value, and unvested awards are often lost when you leave.
- Sick pay, leave and parental pay top-ups, which can be worth thousands in a year you need them.
Work it out
Sources
- Revenue: Pension contributions: employer contributions are not a benefit in kind (checked 16/10/2026)
- Revenue: Taxable employer benefits (medical insurance, shares and others) (checked 16/10/2026)
- Revenue: Small Benefit Exemption: up to five benefits worth €1,500 a year from 2025 (checked 16/10/2026)
- Revenue: Tax relief limits on pension contributions (checked 25/10/2026)
General information, not tax advice. HeyPenny is not a tax agent.