What emergency tax is
Emergency tax is the temporary high rate of tax applied when Revenue has not issued a Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) to your employer for you, or when your PPS number is missing or unmatched.
Under emergency tax your tax credits are zero throughout, and the standard rate cut off point is allowed for the first pay periods only before it too drops to zero. Revenue publishes the exact schedule an employer must apply on a one page card, and it is shorter than most descriptions of it.
How emergency tax progresses in 2026
If your PPS number is on file, the 2026 emergency basis is [source]:
- Weekly paid: weeks 1 to 4 get a cut off point of €846.16 a week and a tax credit of €0.00. From week 5 onwards the cut off point is €0.00 and the tax credit is €0.00.
- Fortnightly paid: the first and second pay days each get €1,692.31 and no credit. From the third pay day the cut off point is €0.00.
- Monthly paid: month 1 gets €3,666.67 and no credit. From month 2 onwards the cut off point is €0.00.
There is no middle step. The cut off point does not taper down over weeks 5 to 8, and nothing further happens at week 9: once the cut off point reaches zero, every euro of pay is taxed at 40 percent.
If your PPS number is missing the cut off point is €0.00 and the tax credit €0.00 from the very first pay day, so all pay is taxed at 40 percent immediately.
USC on the emergency basis is a single row on the same card: a USC cut off point of €0.00 and a USC rate of 8 percent, for all pay periods. That row is not conditional on the PPS number, so emergency USC at 8 percent applies whether or not Revenue has it.
What Week 1 / Month 1 basis means
Week 1 basis is different from emergency tax, although both can lead to higher than normal deductions. On Week 1 basis:
- Each pay period is treated independently
- No catch up of unused credits or SRCOP from earlier in the year
- Useful when there is uncertainty about year to date earnings, for example after a job change
If you stay on Week 1 basis you may be due a refund at year end via the Statement of Liability.
Worked example of emergency tax cost
Niall starts a new job in May 2026 earning €4,000 a month. He is single, monthly paid, has had no other Irish income earlier in 2026, and has not registered the job with Revenue. His PPS number is on file. On a normal Revenue Payroll Notification his monthly SRCOP would be €3,666.67 and his monthly tax credits €333.33.
Because he is paid monthly, the emergency basis gives him the month 1 cut off point once and nothing after it. He never reaches a week 9: his first pay day is month 1 and his second is already month 2 onwards.
- Cumulative basis, his first month: €0 of PAYE. Five months of SRCOP and five months of credits are available against a single month of pay, so nothing is due yet.
- Week 1 basis: €3,666.67 x 20 percent = €733.33, plus €333.33 x 40 percent = €133.33, then €733.33 plus €133.33 minus €333.33 = €533.33 of PAYE.
- Emergency basis, month 1: the same two slices of tax, but no credit to subtract, so €733.33 plus €133.33 = €866.66 of PAYE.
- Emergency basis, month 2 onwards: the cut off point is zero, so €4,000 x 40 percent = €1,600.00 of PAYE.
USC sits on top of every one of those rows. On the emergency basis it is 8 percent of all pay with no cut off point: €4,000 x 8 percent = €320.00 a month. So the real emergency cost is €866.66 plus €320.00 = €1,186.66 in month 1 and €1,600.00 plus €320.00 = €1,920.00 every month after that. On the cumulative basis USC is charged at the ordinary 2026 USC rates instead, on the same pay.
From his second pay day, then, the gap between emergency tax and the correct treatment is close to the whole €1,920.00. It is cash flow rather than a final liability: the over deduction comes back through an updated RPN, or through the Statement of Liability after the year end.
The €533.33 figure above is also the steady state a single earner on €4,000 a month reaches later in the year on the cumulative basis, once enough of the annual SRCOP and credits have been used up. It is not what a May starter pays in their first month.
How to fix emergency tax
- Sign in to Revenue myAccount
- Go to "PAYE Services" and "Manage your tax"
- Add your new employment with the employer's tax registration number
- Revenue issues an updated RPN to your employer within a few days
- Your next payslip applies cumulative basis and refunds any over deduction
You can also call Revenue's PAYE helpline if you do not have online access.
Why employees end up on emergency tax
- Starting a job before registering with Revenue
- Multiple jobs without splitting credits between them
- Returning to PAYE employment after self employment
- Coming from abroad with no Irish employment record
Educational notice
This article is general guidance. Always consult Revenue.ie or a tax professional for advice specific to your circumstances.