What is USC (Universal Social Charge)?

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You must also pay USC on your income. USC or the Universal Social Charge is a tax on your gross income that replaced both the health and the income levy in January 2011. Chances are if you work in Ireland you'll need to pay USC and you'll see it deducted on your payslip each time you're paid.

All employees earning over €13,000 in gross income will pay USC.

**Table: Standard Rates of USC 2025**
First €12,012	0.5%
€12-012 - €25,760	2%
€25,761 - €70,044	4%
Anything above €70,044	8%

You'll qualify for reduced rates of USC:

If you're aged 70 or over and your total income for the year is €60,000 or less
If you're a medical card holder aged under 70 with a total income of €60,000 or less-If your income is more than €60,000, the standard rates of USC apply to your full income.

**Reduced Rates of USC 2025**
Up to €12,012	0.5%
Income over €12,012	2%

Please note: USC rates apply to you and your spouse/civil partner individually, they can't be combined or transferred.

What income is exempt from USC?

If you earn €13,000 or less, your income is exempt from USC
In some cases, your income may be completely exempt from USC

**Payments that are exempt from USC**
Payments from Community Employment Schemes and Back to Education Allowance
Social welfare or similar payments made from abroad
Student grants and scholarships
Statutory Redundancy Payments
Redundancy payments above the statutory redundancy amount-Universal Social Charge up to certain limits
How maintenance payments are treated for Universal Social Charge purposes depends on whether they are voluntary payments or legally enforceable payments
Employer’s or pension provider’s contribution to an approved retirement benefit scheme is not liable to the Universal Social Charge, but the employee's contributions are
Department of Social Protection pensions or similar pensions from abroad are exempt
The USC is only payable on lump sum pension payments on the The USC is only payable on lump sum pension payments on the portion over €500,000
Blind Welfare Supplementary Allowance
Community Employment Scheme
Fund for Students with Disabilities
Job Initiative Scheme
Mobility Allowance
Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS)
Income where DIRT (Deposit Interest Retention Tax) has already been paid
Certain salary sacrifice schemes, such as the TaxSaver Commuter Ticket Scheme and the Cycle to Work scheme
Income qualifying for Childcare services relief
Foster care payments
Child Benefit
Income qualifying for Rent a Room Relief
Income from scholarships
Youthreach Training Allowance
Early childhood and education scheme

Maintenance Payments and USC

How maintenance payments are treated for Universal Social Charge purposes largely depends on whether they're voluntary or legally enforceable payments.

1. For Voluntary maintenance payments under an informal arrangement:

The spouse making the payments isn't exempt from USC on the portion of their income on which they pay as maintenance, however the spouse who gets the payments isn't subject to USC on the maintenance payments.

2. Maintenance payments under legal obligation:

If you’re the one making payments to a spouse, you’re entitled to an exemption on the portion of your income on the maintenance paid to your spouse, however there’s no exemption for any portion of maintenance payments paid towards the maintenance of children.

The spouse who receives payments is subject to the Universal Social Charge on the portion of maintenance payments they get, however any portion of maintenance payments paid towards the maintenance of children won't be subject to the Universal Social Charge.

Other Rates of USC

There are a couple of items subject to different rates of USC, these include:

1. Non-PAYE income above €100,000

On non-PAYE income above €100,000, there's a surcharge of 3% per year.

2. Certain bank bonuses

A rate of 45% applies to bonuses paid to employees of building societies and banks that received state financial support. If the payments are €20,000 or less in a year, standard rates of USC apply. If the payments exceed €20,000 in a year, the full amount is charged at 45% USC.

This applies to:

Allied Irish Bank
Anglo Irish Bank
Bank of Ireland
Educational Building Society
Irish Nationwide Building Society

3. Property Relief Surcharge

An additional 5% rate of USC applies to taxable income that is 'sheltered' by property reliefs. This includes property-based capital allowances and relief for residential lessors known as 'section 23-type' relief. The property relief surcharge doesn’t apply if your gross income is less than €100,000.

The surcharge applies to:

Capital allowances made in or carried forward to the 2012 tax year and any later tax year
Any losses carried forward to 2012 or a later year that are due to section 23-type relief

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