Tax credits for non-residents

European Union (EU) citizens or nationals

If you’re a citizen of the EU, then 75% of your worldwide income is taxable in Ireland and you’ll get the full tax credits on a cumulative basis.

Citizen of a country with a tax treaty

If you’re from a country with which Ireland has a tax treaty and your only source of income is Irish, you’ll get the full tax credits on a cumulative basis. If you have non-Irish income, then you may receive a portion of tax credits. You can read a list of countries that have treaties with Ireland here.

Other non-residents

All other non-residents receive no tax credits. A PAYE Exclusion order might be issued if all your employment duties are abroad or if you’ll be a non-resident in Ireland in the tax year. The order instructs your employer not to deduct income tax or USC.

Ownership of property

If you own a property in Ireland, this doesn’t make you a resident for tax purposes, however, this could be a factor in determining a single country of residence under a tax agreement where the other country claims you’re resident there.

Electing to be resident

You can elect to be resident in Ireland for a year even if you haven’t spent the total number of days in the state that year. To avail of this, the tax office must be satisfied that you’ll be resident in the following year for the required number of days.

Once you have made such an election you can’t cancel it and as a resident will have to pay tax on your worldwide income during the entire tax year of your arrival in Ireland. Your employment income will only be taxable from the date of your arrival. An election may be made in writing to your local tax office.

Double taxation agreements

Ireland has double taxation agreements with many countries to prevent you from being taxed twice on the same income. Here is a list of the double taxation agreements that are in effect.

If the other country has a double taxation agreement with Ireland you don’t have to pay tax on the same income by either:

• Exempting the income from tax in one of the countries, or

• Allowing credit in one country for the tax paid in the other country on the same income

The treatment of your income will largely depend on the agreement and in some cases your nationality and citizenship.

If the other country doesn’t have an agreement with Ireland, then the amount of tax paid in Ireland will be based on the net amount received by you after the deduction of foreign tax paid.

There’s no credit for foreign tax paid against your Irish tax liability on the same income.