When is an employer liable to be registered?
An employer must be registered for PAYE if they make payments exceeding:
- €8 per week (€36 per month) for a full time employee, or
- €2 per week (€9 per month) where the employee has other employment.
An employer is also required to notify the Revenue of their name and address and of the fact that they are making such payments within 9 days after the date of commencement of employing staff.
A company must register as an employer and operate PAYE on the income of directors even if there are no other employees. A director of an Irish company is liable to PAYE on any income attributable to the directorship irrespective of their residence status or where the duties of the directorship are performed.
Notification of the need to be registered should be sent to the local Revenue office where the business is managed and controlled within 9 days from the date the employer is liable to be registered.
An individual who makes payments to an employee in a domestic employment need not register as an employer where:
- the payments from that employment are less than €40 per week, and
- the employer has only one such employee.
How does the application process work?
To register for PAYE/PRSI you must complete the following forms:
- Individual/Sole Trader/Partnership – Form TR1
- Company – Form TR2
- If you are already registered for Income Tax (either as self-employed or as an employee) or Corporation Tax – Form PREM Reg.
When you complete the form and return it to Revenue you will receive confirmation of your registration as an employer and a registered number for PAYE/PRSI purposes.
Can there be compulsory registration by the Revenue?
Where there the Revenue have reason to believe that an employer is liable to register for PAYE purposes and has not done so the Revenue will register the employer and issue formal notice of registration. An employer who claims that they are not obliged to register for PAYE should object in writing to Revenue within 14 days from the date of service of the notice of registration.
In the event of failure to operate PAYE and where PAYE/PRSI deductions are not made the Revenue may issue formal notice of estimation in respect of any amounts of PAYE/PRSI not remitted.
What about when an employer ceases to have employees?
An employer who ceases to make payments to employees is obliged to notify the Revenue of the fact within 14 days from the date of cessation. This notification should be sent when the employer ceases to have employees and is unlikely to have employees in the future or when the employer’s trade or business ceases. Completion of end-of-year returns and forms P45 should then be completed and submitted.
Can an employer have more than one registration number?
There are circumstances where an employer may find it convenient to have separate registration numbers for different groups of employees:
- An employer who has one or more branches may find it convenient to have each branch separately registered for PAYE/PRSI purposes. The employer may only do this where the employees in each branch are paid from that branch and not from the head office.
- An employer who keeps separate wages records for different groups of employees (e.g. office, factory etc.) may wish to make separate PAYE/PRSI remittances and returns under a separate registration number for each group.
- An employer who pays salary or wages to an employee to whom they also pay a pension should have a separate registration number under which a PAYE/PRSI record may be kept in respect of the pensioner’s salary or wages in addition to the pension registration number.
- A limited company may wish to make separate PAYE/PRSI remittances and returns under a separate registration number in respect of directors.
If any of the above applies, the employer should notify Revenue to obtain a separate registration.
What does a UK employer need to do if they employ someone working in Ireland?
The UK employer needs to register with the Irish Revenue as having a trading entity in Ireland and an Irish payroll needs to be run for the Irish staff. The registration rules are as stated above.
If you need assistance with Irish payroll then do get in touch. Payplus has experience and a proven track record in this specialised area.
We will help you to navigate the Irish systems. Contact Robin Mead for more information – 0800 018 0590 rmead@payplus.co.uk
