Working in Ireland: no permit needed, but a PPS number, or you pay 40% emergency tax

Yes, you can work in Ireland without a permit. Citizens Information says it without reservation: as an EU citizen you come to Ireland to look for work, and you take up employment or self-employment without an employment permit. As an employee you have the same rights as an Irish worker, from working conditions to tax. The trap is in the first payslip. Without a PPS number and without a registration of your job with the tax authority Revenue, your employer can't request your tax details, and then emergency tax applies: in the worst case 40% of your whole pay.

What must you arrange before your first payslip?

Two things, preferably before your first payday. Your employer must have your PPS number, and your job must be registered with Revenue. If this is your first job in Ireland, you register it yourself, in Revenue's myAccount, under Add Job or Pension Details. Then your employer can download a Revenue Payroll Notification, with your rates and tax credits. How you get the PPS number is covered in the PPS number and the proofs of address.

Situation	How your employer deducts
No PPS number with your employer	all your pay at 40%
PPS number given, job not yet registered, weeks 1 to 4	20% up to the weekly rate band for a single person (€846.16), 40% above that
PPS number given, job not yet registered, from week 5	all your pay at 40%
PPS number and registered job	your normal rate, with your tax credits

Overpaid tax isn't lost: Revenue has a route to reclaim emergency tax. But whoever starts their first weeks with 40% deducted feels it straight away in the bank account.

Don't start work without that number. Plan the appointment for your PPS number in your first days, and register your job in myAccount as soon as your employer has hired you. Emergency tax is not a fine, but the money is tied up until it is settled.

What is left of an Irish gross salary?

Your payslip shows three deductions: income tax (PAYE), the Universal Social Charge (USC) and the social insurance contribution PRSI. Most employees pay PRSI in class A; it counts towards your Irish benefits and State Pension, and contributions you paid earlier in another EEA country count too.

Item	Amount or rate (2026)
Minimum wage, 20 and over	€14.15 an hour
Minimum wage, age 19	€12.74 an hour
Income tax	20% up to the cut-off point, 40% above it
Cut-off point, single person	€44,000
Cut-off point, married couple, one income	€53,000
Annual leave	4 working weeks a year, with at least 1,365 hours worked
Public holidays	10 a year

The Irish tax year is the calendar year. Whoever intends to live in Ireland in the following calendar year too can ask for split-year treatment in the year of arrival: your Irish employment income is then taxed from your arrival date, and what you earned abroad before that doesn't count for Irish tax.

Is your Dutch diploma recognised?

For an academic qualification there is NARIC Ireland, hosted by the quality agency QQI. It has a free online database of more than 2,000 foreign qualifications, from which you download a comparability statement: a comparison with a level on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications. Such a statement is advice, not a legal document, and is not personalised; whether your diploma is sufficient is ultimately decided by the employer or the course.

If you work in a regulated profession, that isn't enough. Professional recognition is decided by the Irish authority responsible for your profession; NARIC Ireland doesn't comment on that. Citizens Information says it too: you may have to get your professional qualifications recognised in Ireland.

How does it work if you are self-employed?

You register with Revenue as self-employed and pay tax on your profit, through an annual return, the Form 11, which new registrants since 2015 file online. The rhythm differs from the Netherlands: by 31 October you pay preliminary tax for the current year and file your return for the previous year. Whoever files and pays online usually gets a bit longer; in 2026 until 18 November. You pay USC above €13,000 gross a year, with an extra 3% on self-employed income above €100,000, and PRSI in class S.

If you keep working from Ireland for a Dutch employer and are paid from the Netherlands, that pay is taxable in Ireland from your arrival, unless the tax treaty says otherwise. Have your employer look into that beforehand. How work fits into your journey is shown at /ierland.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.2: 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 5.2 in the open plan.