Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP)

This is available for certain employees who come to work in Ireland for an employer from abroad and applies to tax years 2012 to 2025. To qualify for this, the employer you’re working for should be incorporated and tax resident in a country with which Ireland has a double taxation agreement or a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA).

You can claim SARP if you meet the following requirements:

• you arrive in Ireland anytime from 2012-2025 at the request of your employer to work for that employer (or associated company of that employer)
• you work outside Ireland for a minimum of 6 months for the employer who assigned you to work in Ireland. immediately before being assigned to work in Ireland
• you work for at least 12 consecutive months from the date you’re first assigned
• you weren’t tax resident in Ireland for the five tax years immediately preceding the year you arrive in Ireland to take up employment
• you’re a tax resident in Ireland for all years for which you claim the relief
• you earn a minimum basic salary of €100,000 per annum excluding bonuses, commissions or other similar payments, benefits or share-based remuneration

How do you calculate how much relief is due?

Where you meet all the conditions to qualify for the relief, you can make a claim to have a proportion of your earnings from the employment disregarded for Income Tax (IT) purposes. If you arrive in Ireland after 1 January 2023, the proportion is 30% of your income over €100,000 up to a limit of €1,000,000. If you arrived in Ireland after 1 January 2019, the proportion is 30% of your income over €75,000 up to a limit of €1,000,000. However, you will still have to pay Universal Social Charge (USC) on the full amount of your salary.

You can claim the relief for a maximum of five consecutive years starting with the year you're first entitled to the relief. If you qualify for the relief, you're also entitled to receive, free of tax, certain travel expenses and certain costs associated with your children's education.

How do you apply for SARP relief?

From 01 January 2024, the Form SARP 1A may be certified through the eSARP portal through Revenue Online Service (ROS). 

If you cannot submit the certification online, this may be done using a paper Form SARP 1A. Employers should send a Form SARP 1A for each employee to their Revenue Office within 30 days of the employee arriving in Ireland to take up duties.

How is relief granted?

You can be granted the relief through your payroll or by your employer completing part C of Form SARP 1A. You can also make a claim for the relief at the end of the tax year. You must submit a return of income for each year you claim the relief.