Estimate employee PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance) contributions on Irish weekly or annual income.
Most employees pay PRSI at the standard employee rate (4.35% from October 2026) on gross weekly pay. Employees earning €352 or less per week are exempt. This tool applies the flat employee rate to your income (assumed weekly, or divide annual income by 52).
Illustrative estimate only, using simplified/rounded 2026 Irish tax figures — not tax advice. Always confirm with Revenue.ie or a licensed tax advisor.
PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance) funds Ireland's state benefits and pensions system, and is charged separately from income tax and USC. Most employees fall into PRSI Class A, with the employee rate set to rise to 4.35% from 1 October 2026 as part of a scheduled series of gradual increases. Employers pay a separate, larger PRSI contribution on top — rising to 11.40% generally, or a lower 9.15% rate for employees earning €441 or less per week, which is a real cost to the employer even though it does not appear on the employee's own payslip deduction.
PRSI contributions build entitlement to a range of state benefits beyond just the pension, including Jobseeker's Benefit, Illness Benefit, and Maternity/Paternity Benefit, each with its own minimum contribution requirements. Because these are contribution-based rather than means-tested, someone with a short or gapped PRSI record can find themselves ineligible for a benefit even in genuine need, which is why tracking PRSI class and contribution history matters beyond just the pension.
Class A covers most private-sector employees and gives access to the full range of PRSI benefits. Other classes (such as Class S for the self-employed, or Class B/C/D for certain public servants) have different rates and, in some cases, access to a narrower set of benefits — self-employed Class S contributors, for instance, do not qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit in the same way employees do.
PRSI is charged on reckonable pay, which covers most employment income, but certain payments and a low-pay exemption threshold can affect what is actually charged — very low earners below a set weekly threshold pay no PRSI at all, though this does not affect their income tax or USC treatment.
Broadly, a long-term average of contributions across your working life determines the rate, with different calculation methods (Total Contributions Approach being the main current one) — generally, 40 years of paid or credited contributions gives the maximum weekly rate, though partial pensions are available with fewer.
No — Northern Ireland is part of the UK system and uses National Insurance instead, with its own separate rates and rules. PRSI applies specifically to employment and self-employment in the Republic of Ireland.