PRSI in Ireland 2026: the October rate rise and the PRSI credit explained

Pay Related Social Insurance went up on 1 October 2026, for employees and employers alike. The change is small on each payslip, and it sits alongside a PRSI credit for lower earners that confuses many people.

This guide explains what changed, how PRSI is worked out week by week, how the PRSI credit tapers away, and what the increase costs at different salaries. The PRSI calculator shows your own figures.

What changed on 1 October 2026

The Department of Social Protection’s 2026 rates for Class A, the class most employees pay, are:Department of Social Protection↗

The employer rates include the National Training Fund levy. The thresholds and the PRSI credit did not change in October; only the percentages did.Department of Social Protection↗

PRSI contribution weeks run from 1 January, so in 2026 there are 39 weeks at the old rates and 13 at the new ones. That mix is what the calculators use for 2026 as a whole.

How Class A PRSI works

PRSI is not worked out like income tax or USC. There are no annual bands. Instead, it is based on each week’s pay, and the rate applies to all of that pay with no upper limit.Department of Social Protection↗ Monthly and fortnightly pay is converted to a weekly equivalent.

Weekly pay falls into one of four subclasses:

Two things follow. First, once your weekly pay is above the A0 limit, employee PRSI is charged on all of it, not just the part above the limit. Second, for employers the higher rate applies to the whole week’s pay once it passes €552.

The PRSI credit

Without help, the move from A0 to paying the full rate on all your pay would be a sharp jump. The PRSI credit smooths it.

At weekly pay of €352.01, you get the maximum credit of €12 a week. As pay rises, the maximum credit is reduced by your weekly pay above €352.01 divided by 6. By €424 a week it has gone.Department of Social Protection↗ You do not claim it: payroll applies it automatically.

Some examples at the rates from 1 October 2026:

Someone on €400 a week all year has a PRSI credit worth €208.00 over the year. The credit is a weekly calculation, so a worker whose hours vary may get it in some weeks and not others.

What the rise means for your pay

On a salary, the increase is a fraction of a percentage point of pay. For a full-time employee that is a small amount each week, but it applies to every euro of pay with no ceiling, and employers pay their own rise on top for every member of staff. Here is employee PRSI for 2026 as a whole, compared with what a full year at the new rate would cost:

The breakdown for €50,000 shows how the year splits between the two rates:

Why your October payslip looks different

If your gross pay stayed the same but your net pay fell slightly in October, the PRSI rise is the likely reason. On €4,000 a month, employee PRSI was €168.00 a month up to September and is €173.98 a month from October.

Your income tax and USC should not have changed, because their 2026 rates and bands apply for the whole calendar year. If they did change, check your Tax Credit Certificate in myAccount. For the full effect on take-home pay, the Ireland salary calculator lets you choose the PRSI rates before or after 1 October, and the salary after tax tables show common salaries.

What it costs employers

Employer PRSI is larger than employee PRSI and also rose on 1 October. For an employee on €50,000, employer PRSI is €5,643.69 for 2026, or €5,700.24 for a full year at the new rate.

Watch the €552 weekly threshold. Because the higher employer rate applies to all of the week’s pay once it is crossed, a small pay rise around that point can cost an employer more in PRSI than the rise itself. The Ireland employer cost calculator adds employer PRSI, pension contributions and other costs to salary: a €50,000 employee with no employer pension costs €55,644 a year in total.

Pension contributions and PRSI

Your own contributions to an occupational pension or PRSA reduce your pay for income tax, but not for PRSI. The Department of Social Protection’s employer guide says employee pension contributions are included in reckonable pay for PRSI.Department of Social Protection↗ Employer pension contributions, on the other hand, are not subject to PRSI. Enter your pay before pension contributions when you use the PRSI calculator.

Class J and the self-employed

Class J. People aged 70 or over, people receiving the State Pension (Contributory), and those earning under €38 a week pay Class J. There is no employee PRSI. The employer pays 0.7%, rising to 0.85% from 1 October 2026. On €60,000, a Class J employee pays €0.00.

Class S. Self-employed people with income of €5,000 or more pay Class S. The rate follows the employee rate, so it also rose on 1 October 2026, with a minimum annual payment of €650.Department of Social Protection↗ For self-assessed 2026 income, the Department applies a single blended rate for the year; the PRSI calculator covers employees only.

Common questions

Is there a maximum amount of PRSI? No. Class A has no ceiling, so PRSI keeps rising in line with pay. Someone paid €2,500 a week pays €108.75 a week in employee PRSI at the October rate. This is one of the main differences from social insurance in some other countries, where contributions stop above an earnings cap.

Why does employer PRSI jump around €552 a week? Because the higher employer rate applies to the whole week’s pay once it is crossed. At €550 a week, employer PRSI from October is €50.33; at €560 it is €63.84. The employee’s own PRSI barely moves: €23.93 against €24.36.

Do I pay PRSI on a bonus? Yes. A bonus is part of your pay for the week or month it is paid in, and PRSI is charged on it at your normal rate. If your pay is usually in the PRSI credit range, a bonus week can take you out of it for that week.

I am paid monthly. Does the PRSI credit still apply? Yes. The credit and the subclasses are set out in weekly amounts, and payroll converts them for monthly and fortnightly pay.Department of Social Protection↗ The PRSI calculator does the same conversion when you enter monthly pay.

Will the rates change again? The October 2026 rates apply until the Department publishes new ones. Any change for 2027 will be in the Department’s next contribution rates guide, and the calculators will be updated when it is published.

Check your PRSI

Enter your pay per week, month or year and choose which part of 2026 to use.

PRSI is one of three deductions from Irish pay. For the other two, see USC 2026: bands, rates and who pays the reduced rate and Irish tax credits and the standard rate cut-off point. The full picture is in Take-home pay in Ireland 2026.