| | Universal social charge (USC) |
| Description | USC is a tax on Pay for USC, including any benefit in kind (BIK) notional pay. Employees are exempt from USC when: - Their annual Pay for USC is below €13,000
- Their income comes from social welfare payments, including those received from abroad
- They receive community employment, job initiative, or FÁS non-apprentice payments
- They receive statutory redundancy payments
- They receive ex-gratia or termination payments exempt from USC
 NOTE: If an employee earns less than €13,000 annually and Revenue has not applied an exemption, you must still deduct USC. Revenue refunds the employee directly.
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| Resolution | USC thresholds and rates For the latest USC rates and income thresholds, check the USC rates and annual earning thresholds guide.
Check the employee’s USC status Before processing payroll, confirm that each employee’s Tax/USC Status, USC rates, and thresholds are correct in their record. Sage 50 Payroll Ireland imports these values automatically when you retrieve Revenue Payroll Notifications (RPNs). USC status options are: - Emergency
- Week 1/Month 1
- Normal
- Exempt
Emergency USC manual calculation Emergency USC calculates on a period-by-period basis. It ignores year-to-date values and uses only the current period’s taxable pay. Example - Weekly gross pay: €500
- Second week of employment
- Emergency USC rate: 8%
Calculation €500 × 8% = €40 USC due
Week 1 USC manual calculation Week 1 USC also calculates period-by-period. Each pay period is treated separately, without using cumulative totals. Example - Monthly gross pay: €6,000
- Revenue thresholds:
| Rate | Annual cut-off | Monthly threshold | | 0.5% | €12,012 | €1,001.00 | | 2% | €20,687 | €722.92 | | 4.5% | €70,044 | €4,113.08 | | 8% | Over €70,044 | Any pay above €4,113.08 | Calculation | Rate | Threshold | Calculation | USC € | | 0.5% | €1,001.00 | €1,001 × 0.5% | 5.01 | | 2% | €722.92 | €722.92 × 2% | 14.46 | | 4.5% | €4,113.08 | €4,113.08 × 4.5% | 185.09 | | 8% | €163 x 8% | 163 × 8% | 13.04 | | Total USC due | | | €217.60 |
Normal USC manual calculation Normal USC uses cumulative calculations. It includes year-to-date gross pay and USC already paid. Example - Period: 6 (June)
- Cumulative gross pay: €40,000
- USC paid to date: €2,000
- Revenue thresholds: same as above
Step 1 – Determine cumulative thresholds | Rate | Annual threshold | Monthly threshold | Six periods | | 0.5% | €12,012.00 | €1,001.00 | €6,006.00 | | 2% | €20,687.00 | €722.92 | €4,337.52 | | 4.5% | €70,044.00 | €4,113.08 | €24,678.48 | | 8% | Above €70,044.00 | Over €4,113.08 | Over €24,678.48 | Step 2 – Calculate USC to date | Rate | Threshold | Calculation | USC € | | 0.5% | €6,006.00 | €6,006 × 0.5% | 5.01 | | 2% | €4,337.52 | €4,337.52 × 2% | 14.46 | | 4.5% | €24,678.48 | €24,678.48 × 4.5% | 185.09 | | 8% | €4978.00 | €4,978 x 8% | 13.04 | | Total USC due to date | | | €217.60 | |
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