Registering as an Employer in Ireland: Your First Employee and Payroll Checklist

Staxo Team, 2026-09-16

Hiring your first employee in Ireland is a milestone. It also puts you inside the PAYE system, where Revenue expects a payroll submission every time you pay someone, on or before the day you pay them. The rules are manageable once they are set up. This guide walks through registration, the Revenue Payroll Notification, real-time reporting, PRSI, auto-enrolment, the minimum wage and payslips, and ends with a checklist.

Step 1: Register as an employer with Revenue

You must register as an employer before you make the first payment to an employee. Revenue's guidance says the only exception is a single domestic employee paid under 40 euro a week. A company paying a salary to its own director must register too.

The fastest route is eRegistration through ROS, or through myAccount if you are a sole trader not yet on ROS. If you cannot use eRegistration, the paper forms are:

TR1 for an individual, sole trader or partnership
TR2 for a company
PREM Reg if you are already registered for income tax or corporation tax and only need to add PAYE

Once registered you receive an employer registration number, which is the number your payroll software uses to talk to Revenue. If Revenue believes you should be registered and you have not done so, it can register you automatically.

Step 2: Get a Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN)

Before running payroll for any employee, you must request their RPN from Revenue. The RPN tells you the employee's tax credits, their income tax and USC cut-off points, and any pay and tax from a previous employment in the year. Payroll software usually fetches RPNs automatically; you can also request them in ROS.

To get an RPN you need the employee's PPSN and you must first register the employment with Revenue. If no RPN is available, Revenue's rule is that you must apply the emergency basis, which taxes the employee heavily until an RPN arrives. Ask new starters for their PPSN and have them register the job in myAccount before the first payday.

Step 3: Real-time PAYE reporting

Since 1 January 2019, PAYE in Ireland has been reported in real time. Revenue's rule is that you must report payroll details each time an employee is paid, on or before the pay date. Each payroll submission lists gross pay, tax, USC, PRSI and other deductions per employee.

From those submissions, Revenue generates a statement for the month by the 5th of the following month. If you accept it, or do nothing, by the 14th it becomes your statutory monthly return, and the PAYE, USC and PRSI shown are paid to Revenue. Small employers can apply to pay quarterly or annually, but the submissions are still made on every payday.

Employees no longer receive a P60. Instead, each employee can see an Employment Detail Summary in myAccount, showing pay and deductions for every employment in the year, built from your submissions. If your submissions are wrong, the employee's record is wrong.

Step 4: PRSI classes and 2026 employer rates

PRSI is social insurance. The class depends on the type of employment. The main ones are:

Class A: most employees in private sector jobs. This is the class for almost every first hire.
Class S: self-employed people and most proprietary directors.
Class J: employees earning under 38 euro a week and some over pension age.
Class M: people with no PRSI liability.

For Class A in 2026 the rates published by the Department of Social Protection are:

Period	Employee rate	Employer rate, weekly pay up to 552 euro	Employer rate, weekly pay above 552 euro
1 January to 30 September 2026	4.2% (nil up to 352 euro a week, tapered credit to 424 euro)	9%	11.25%
From 1 October 2026	4.35%	9.15%	11.4%

The 0.15 point increase on 1 October 2026 applies to all PRSI classes. Rates change most years, so check the current SW14 guide on gov.ie before you set a budget.

Step 5: Auto-enrolment (My Future Fund)

Ireland's auto-enrolment pension scheme, called My Future Fund, started on 1 January 2026. An employee is enrolled automatically if they are aged 23 to 60, earn 20,000 euro or more a year across all employments, and are not already paying into a pension through payroll. The employer, the employee and the State all contribute. Contributions are phased:

Years of the scheme	Employee	Employer	State
1 to 3	1.5%	1.5%	0.5%
4 to 6	3%	3%	1%
7 to 9	4.5%	4.5%	1.5%
10 onwards	6%	6%	2%

Employer and State contributions stop on earnings above 80,000 euro. Employees can opt out after six months. The employer's job is to deduct and pay the contributions through payroll; the scheme is administered by NAERSA, not by the employer.

Step 6: The minimum wage in 2026

Since 1 January 2026 the national minimum wage is 14.15 euro per hour for anyone aged 20 or over. Sub-minimum rates apply: 12.74 euro at age 19, 11.32 euro at age 18, and 9.91 euro under 18. The rate is set each year by the Government on the advice of the Low Pay Commission, so check gov.ie or citizensinformation.ie before each January.

Step 7: Payslips

Under section 4 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 every employee has the right to a payslip with each payment of wages. The payslip must show gross pay and every deduction made. Most payslips also show PAYE, USC, employee and employer PRSI, cumulative figures, tax credits and the cut-off point. Electronic payslips are allowed. Deductions that are not required by law need either the employee's written consent or a term in the contract.

First employee checklist

Register as an employer on ROS before the first payday.
Give the employee a written statement of core terms within five days of starting and a full contract within one month.
Collect the employee's PPSN and ask them to register the job in myAccount.
Request the RPN before the first payroll run.
Choose payroll software that submits to Revenue on or before each pay date.
Check the employee's PRSI class and apply the current employer rate.
Check whether the employee falls into auto-enrolment and set up the deductions.
Confirm the hourly rate is at or above 14.15 euro, or the correct sub-minimum rate.
Issue a payslip with every payment.
Review Revenue's monthly statement by the 14th and pay what is due.
Keep payroll records for six years.

Frequently asked questions

I am the only director of my company. Do I need to register as an employer?

Yes, if the company pays you a salary. Revenue's guidance is that a company must register even where the only pay is to a director. Proprietary directors are usually on PRSI Class S rather than Class A.

Can I pay someone cash in hand while I sort out the paperwork?

No. The payroll submission is due on or before the pay date, and registration must come before the first payment. Paying first and reporting later is a breach.

What if my new employee does not have a PPSN?

They need to apply to the Department of Social Protection for one. Until you have it you cannot get an RPN and must operate the emergency basis, which deducts tax at the higher rate.

Do I have to offer a pension?

You do not have to set up your own scheme. If an eligible employee is not in a payroll pension, they are enrolled in My Future Fund and you must pay the employer contribution.

Sources

Staxo's Professional plan includes payslips for up to five employees with payroll support, and the Business plan adds full configurable payroll, so your first hire does not mean a second software subscription. See Staxo plans.