Who qualifies
An employee already in an occupational pension scheme who chooses to top up retirement savings via Additional Voluntary Contributions, including AVC PRSAs.
How to claim
AVCs deducted via payroll are usually given relief at source. AVC PRSA contributions made privately are claimed through myAccount Manage Your Tax with the provider certificate.
Detailed explanation
Additional Voluntary Contributions, or AVCs, are personal pension contributions made by an employee on top of any contributions to their main occupational pension. They allow scheme members to use up the difference between what their main scheme contribution captures and the age-based percentage cap of 15 to 40 percent of earnings. From 2026 the same earnings cap of 115,000 euro applies, and the same age-based percentages: 15 percent up to 30, 20 percent up to 40, 25 percent up to 50, 30 percent up to 55, 35 percent up to 60, and 40 percent above 60. AVCs are most attractive to higher rate taxpayers because the relief is against the 40 percent marginal rate. A common use case is in the public sector where a defined benefit scheme provides a pension based on years of service; AVCs can be used to bridge the gap between expected pension benefits and the Revenue maximum tax-free lump sum of 200,000 euro. From 2024 a Standard Fund Threshold of 2.0 million applies to total pension assets, with thresholds increasing to 2.8 million by 2029. AVC contributions can be made up to 31 October following the tax year and elected to be set against that earlier year on the Form 11 or in myAccount, which is a powerful tax planning tool when an employee receives an unexpected bonus. Withdrawal of AVC funds is normally only allowed at retirement, although a one-off pre-retirement access option of up to 30 percent of the AVC fund value was introduced for fixed periods.
Worked example
Orla is 52, earns 80,000 euro and her main scheme contribution is 6 percent or 4,800 euro. The 30 percent age limit allows 24,000. She AVCs 10,000 euro through her work scheme, getting 4,000 euro of tax relief at the 40 percent marginal rate.