SARP and the remittance basis: Ireland's two tax regimes for newcomers, and who they work for

Yes, Ireland has a special regime for newcomers, two in fact, but they are for different people. The Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) exempts 30% of your pay above €125,000 from Irish income tax, but only if your employer sends you to Ireland from abroad. The remittance basis taxes the foreign income of people not domiciled in Ireland only when it reaches Ireland. The trap differs per regime: with SARP it is the employer, who must certify to Revenue within 90 days of your arrival; with the remittance basis it is your bank account, because whoever lets income and capital run together undoes the advantage.

Who is SARP for?

For employees sent to Ireland by their employer. Whoever finds a job in Ireland themselves, or comes in retirement, falls outside it. Revenue lists the conditions, and they all apply at once.

Condition	What Revenue requires
Arrival	in any of the tax years 2012 to 2030, at your employer's request
Employer	based in a country with which Ireland has a tax treaty or an information exchange agreement; the Netherlands has a tax treaty with Ireland
Beforehand with that employer	at least 6 months' work outside Ireland for them immediately before the assignment
Duration in Ireland	at least 12 consecutive months of work from the first assignment
Earlier residence	not Irish tax resident in the 5 tax years before your arrival
Salary	a basic salary of at least €125,000 a year, excluding bonuses or shares
Certification	your employer submits form SARP 1A within 90 days of arrival

You must also have a PPS number and be Irish tax resident in every year for which you claim the relief.

How much does SARP save?

For whoever arrives after 1 January 2026, 30% of your income above €125,000 is kept out of income tax, up to an income of €1,000,000. That is possible for at most five consecutive years. The relief doesn't apply to the Universal Social Charge; you pay that on your whole salary. Whoever gets SARP may also receive certain travel expenses and their children's school costs tax-free.

A worked example with Revenue's rules: on pay of €185,000, €60,000 is the part above €125,000. Of that, 30%, €18,000, stays out of income tax.

The 90 days are with your employer, not with you. If your employer certifies late, but within 180 days, you keep SARP, but your first year drops out and you only get it for four years. After 180 days it is gone. Agree before you leave who submits the form, and when.

The relief runs through payroll if your employer asks for approval for that, or you claim it after the end of the year. Either way you file a tax return every year.

What is the remittance basis?

A different way of taxing, for people who are Irish tax resident but not domiciled in Ireland. Domicile is something else than living somewhere: it is the country where you intend to stay, and you keep your domicile of origin until you clearly show that you intend to live permanently in another country and don't intend to return. Whoever moves to Ireland for a number of years therefore often remains domiciled in the Netherlands.

Then you pay Irish tax on your Irish income, and on your foreign income only to the extent that you bring it to Ireland. Revenue's manual sets out the limits.

Income	Remittance basis?
Pay for work you do in Ireland, including from a foreign employer	no, taxed in full
Irish rental income	no
Foreign rent, interest, dividends	yes, taxed when it reaches Ireland
Pay for workdays outside Ireland from a foreign employer	yes, for that part
Savings from income earned before 1 January of your first Irish year	untaxed under long-standing Revenue practice, even if you bring it over later

Why must you separate your accounts?

Because a transfer from an account holding both income and capital counts first as income, until all the income in it has been remitted. Whoever lets the rent from their Dutch house come into the same account as their savings from before the move, and brings money to Ireland from it, therefore remits taxable income first. Keep savings from before you arrive, and income after that, in separate accounts, and set them up before you move.

Which country may tax your pension and your AOW is decided by the tax treaty; that is covered in the article on AOW, pension and tax in Ireland. Work through both regimes with a tax adviser who knows both countries, before your first Irish tax return. How this fits into your journey is shown at /ierland.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Ireland or go straight to step 5.3 in the open plan.