Pension tax relief calculator for Ireland

You get income tax relief at your marginal rate, which means 20% on pay up to the standard rate band and 40% on pay above it. A €1,000 contribution from pay taxed at 40% costs you about €600 in take-home pay. From pay taxed at 20% it costs about €800. There is a limit on how much of your pay gets relief, set by your age.

Revenue says you can get relief on contributions up to a share of your earnings that rises with age: under 30, 15%; 30 to 39, 20%; 40 to 49, 25%; 50 to 54, 30%; 55 to 59, 35%; 60 or over, 40%. For example, an employee aged 42 who earns €40,000 can get relief on up to €10,000 a year.

Revenue says the most earnings counted when working out your limit is €115,000 a year. So someone aged 40 on €150,000 can get relief on up to 25% of €115,000, which is €28,750.

No. Revenue says there is no relief from USC or PRSI for employee pension contributions. Your USC and PRSI are worked out on your full pay, with or without the contribution.

Income tax relief is only given on contributions up to the limit. This calculator treats anything above it as getting no relief this year. Revenue's Pensions Manual says that for occupational schemes, relief on special contributions above the annual limit is given on a spread forward basis, so ask your pension provider or Revenue about your own case.

Sometimes. Revenue says you may pay a once-off or special contribution after the end of a tax year, before the following 31 October, and choose to have the relief given in the earlier year. You must also make that choice before 31 October. Paying and filing through ROS gives you later dates. For the 2025 Income Tax Return (Form 11), Revenue gives 31 October 2026, or 18 November 2026 on ROS.

Revenue says employer contributions to an employee's scheme are not taken into account when working out the employee's earnings limit. For a PRSA, there is a separate limit on what an employer can pay in for an employee: 100% of the employee's salary from 1 January 2025. Anything above that is a benefit-in-kind charge on the employee.

An occupational scheme is set up by an employer and approved by Revenue. A PRSA is a personal pension product that you and your employer can both pay into. It is not tied to one employer, so you can keep it if you change jobs. If your employer has no occupational scheme, it must give you access to at least one standard PRSA.

An AVC (Additional Voluntary Contribution) is an extra payment you make on top of your normal contributions to your work scheme. For AVCs, the age limit is based on your earnings from that job and is reduced by what you already pay into the scheme from that job. For example, Revenue's manual shows someone aged 42 on €50,000 with a limit of €12,500 who pays €2,500 into the scheme and can add up to €10,000 in AVCs.

Usually your employer takes the contribution from your pay and gives you the relief. If they do not, Revenue says you can claim in myAccount through the Income Tax return, under Tax Credits and Reliefs. For an AVC you need the certificate or a detailed receipt from your provider.

It is for an employee on one salary with no other income. It does not work out reliefs spread forward, relief for earlier years, self-employed contributions (RACs and PRSAs on profits), people with two incomes, employer contributions, or the State's auto-enrolment scheme. Revenue has the full rules.