Home › Guides › RPN Guide

Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN): The Complete Employer Guide

A Revenue Payroll Notification, usually shortened to RPN, is the instruction Revenue makes available to an employer so Income Tax, Universal Social Charge (USC) and Local Property Tax (LPT), where relevant, can be calculated correctly for a particular employee and employment. Before payroll is run, the employer must request the latest RPN and use the information returned. It is a routine step, but it affects the tax shown on the employee’s next payslip immediately.

This guide explains how the RPN fits into Irish payroll, what information it contains, what to do for new starters and multiple jobs, how emergency tax and Week 1 or Month 1 basis work, and how to deal with changes and corrections. For the wider PAYE process.

RPN retrieval and Revenue submissions
PAYE, USC and PRSI calculations
Standard payroll reports
Starters, leavers and corrections
MyFutureFund administration
A dedicated payroll manager

THE SHORT VERSION

RPN in 60 Seconds

THE BASICS

What is a Revenue Payroll Notification?

The RPN is Revenue’s current instruction to an employer about how PAYE and USC should be operated for a specific employment. It replaced the old employer Tax Credit Certificate process when PAYE Modernisation began in 2019. Revenue still gives the employee their own Tax Credit Certificate, but the employer works from the RPN.

Revenue’s current RPN guidance says the latest RPN must be requested before payroll. Payroll software should normally retrieve it automatically. Employers that do not use payroll software can request RPNs through ROS.

What information does an RPN contain?

RPN Information	What It Does	Employer Action
Tax Credits	Reduces the employee's Income Tax liability.	Use the total credit shown. Revenue does not disclose the employee's personal credit breakdown to the employer.
Income Tax Cut-off Point	Sets how much pay can be taxed at the standard rate before the higher rate applies.	Apply the figure and tax basis on the current RPN.
USC Cut-off Points and Exemption	Sets the USC bands or confirms an exemption where Revenue has granted one.	Apply the current USC instruction. Do not create a USC exemption yourself.
Previous Pay, Tax and USC	Can allow cumulative calculations to take account of earlier pay in the same tax year.	Use the figures supplied. Week 1 or Month 1 RPNs do not carry cumulative prior-pay figures in the same way.
LPT Instruction	Tells payroll about Local Property Tax to be deducted through pay where applicable.	Deduct the amount instructed on the RPN.
Employment Identifier	Links the RPN to the correct employment where an employee has separate employments with the same employer or recommences.	Use the correct identifier and keep it unchanged throughout a continuous employment.
RPN Number and Issue Date	Identifies the specific Revenue instruction used.	Use the most recent RPN and report the RPN number used in the payroll submission.

The RPN is deliberately limited. Revenue does not tell an employer why an employee has a particular tax credit or reveal the employee’s personal tax circumstances. The employer receives the total figures needed to operate payroll.

RPN VS. TAX CREDIT CERTIFICATE

The RPN and the employee's Tax Credit Certificate are different

Employees can view their Tax Credit Certificate in myAccount. It shows their tax position and allows them to manage credits and rate bands. The RPN is the employer-facing instruction generated from Revenue’s records. If an employee believes the RPN produces the wrong result, the employer should continue to use the latest RPN until Revenue changes it.

Revenue confirms that only Revenue can change an employee’s tax credits and tax or USC cut-off points. Employees can review their position through myAccount or contact Revenue where something appears incorrect.

THE WORKFLOW

How to request and use the latest RPN

RPN retrieval belongs at the start of the pay-run workflow. It should happen before deductions are calculated, not after payroll has already been finalised.

Confirm the employee record

Correct PPSN and Employment Identifier on file.

Request the latest RPN

Through payroll software or ROS.

Check it's the right one

Confirm the RPN returned belongs to the correct employee and employment.

Apply it exactly as returned

Tax credits, cut-off points, tax basis, exemptions and LPT instruction.

Calculate payroll

Using that RPN.

Include the RPN number

The pay date and other required information in the payroll submission.

Report on or before the pay date

To Revenue.

The requirement to use the latest RPN applies regardless of payroll frequency. Revenue’s Employers’ Guide to PAYE specifically states that the latest RPN must be used for payroll calculations irrespective of how often an employee is paid.

Weekly, fortnightly, monthly and irregular payroll

There is no special rule that allows a weekly employer to retrieve RPNs once a month or a quarterly employer to rely on the RPN used for the previous quarter. The current RPN is required for the payroll calculation each time a payment is made. Reliable automation becomes particularly useful for weekly and high-turnover payrolls because the retrieval step happens more often.

If Revenue or your systems are unavailable

Revenue has a specific exception for a genuine persistent technology failure, such as a serious outage affecting Revenue systems, internet service or electricity. Where that exception applies and the latest RPN cannot be retrieved, the employer should use the previous RPN for the same tax year. If there is no previous RPN for that year, emergency basis should be used. Revenue should be notified of an issue that prevents correct operation of PAYE.

That exception is for a genuine technology failure. It is not a general permission to reuse a previous RPN because a pay run is late or the current result is unexpected.

NEW EMPLOYEES

New employees and the first RPN

A new starter should be set up with the correct PPSN, commencement date and Employment Identifier before the first payroll is processed. Who registers the employment with Revenue depends on whether it is the employee’s first employment in the State.

Situation	Who Registers the Employment	Payroll Consequence
First employment in the State	The employee registers the first job with Revenue through Jobs and Pensions in myAccount.	Once Revenue has the employment and the employer has the PPSN, an RPN can be requested.
Employee has worked in the State before	The employer registers the new employment by requesting an RPN with the correct start date.	Revenue can make the RPN available in real time in most cases.
No PPSN available	The employee must obtain a PPSN. For a first employment in Ireland, the employee then registers the job through myAccount.	No RPN can be issued without a PPSN. Emergency basis applies in the meantime and the employer uses an Employer Reference on payroll submissions.

Revenue’s new-starter guidance distinguishes first employment in the State from subsequent employment. That distinction is important because telling every new employee to register every new job in myAccount is not the correct employer process.

What is an Employer Reference when there is no PPSN?

Where an employee does not yet have a PPSN, Revenue requires the employer to allocate a unique Employer Reference and include it on payroll submissions. The reference must remain unchanged until the PPSN becomes available. Once the PPSN is received, the employer reports both the PPSN and the existing Employer Reference so Revenue can match the earlier payroll records to the employee.

The Employer Reference is not a substitute PPSN and does not create an RPN. Emergency Income Tax and USC still apply until Revenue can make an RPN available.

DUAL EMPLOYMENTS

Employment Identifiers and dual employments

The Employment Identifier is set by the employer, or by the payroll software on the employer’s behalf. It is used by Revenue to distinguish separate employments for the same person.

TAX-YEAR TRANSITION

Beginning a new tax year

RPNs are tax-year specific. Revenue makes RPNs available in December for the coming year, and they can continue to change as Revenue receives updated information.

For the 2026 transition, Revenue made 2026 RPNs available in early December 2025 and updated them in real time from 1 January 2026. Employers were instructed not to use a 2025 RPN for a payment made in 2026 and to request RPNs for all employees under each employer registration for the first 2026 payroll run.

The annual transition should be checked against Revenue’s current-year instructions. The 2026 RPN transition page is the source for the specific December 2025 and January 2026 dates.

EMERGENCY TAX

Emergency Tax when no RPN is available

If an employer cannot obtain an RPN, emergency basis must be used. The result depends on whether the employee has provided a valid PPSN. Emergency basis applies to Income Tax and USC. PRSI is a separate social-insurance calculation and is not set by the RPN.

Situation	Emergency Income Tax	Emergency USC
PPSN provided, no RPN: first four weeks	A tax cut-off point based on the single person's standard rate band is allowed. Income up to that cut-off is taxed at the standard rate and the balance at the higher rate. No tax credits are given.	Emergency USC is charged at the emergency USC rate on all pay. Revenue's 2026 Employers' Guide shows 8%.
PPSN provided, no RPN: week five onwards	All pay is taxed at the higher Income Tax rate, with no tax credits.	Emergency USC continues until a valid RPN is available.
No PPSN	All pay is taxed at the higher Income Tax rate from the outset, with no tax credits.	Emergency USC applies. The employer also uses an Employer Reference in payroll submissions until a PPSN is available.

The current employer rules are set out in Revenue’s Emergency basis guidance. Emergency rates and bands can change, so they should be checked whenever this guide is reviewed.

Emergency Tax is continuous

The emergency period is counted from when the employee began working for that employer. It does not restart simply because the employee did not work in every week. This is especially relevant for casual or intermittent work, where a person may have worked only some of the calendar weeks since commencement.

How Emergency Tax stops and refunds are handled

Emergency Tax ends when the employer can retrieve an RPN. The RPN will normally be either cumulative or Week 1/Month 1.

If the employer receives a cumulative RPN, payroll recalculates the employee's Income Tax and USC using the cumulative figures. Any overpaid Income Tax and USC shown by that calculation is refunded through payroll on the next relevant pay day.
If the RPN is on Week 1 or Month 1 basis, the employer cannot refund earlier Income Tax or USC through payroll until Revenue makes a cumulative RPN available.
The employer should not create a manual refund outside payroll because an employee believes too much Emergency Tax was deducted. The current RPN determines the treatment.

TAX BASIS

Cumulative basis and Week 1 or Month 1 basis

Most PAYE employees are taxed on a cumulative basis. Revenue can instead issue an RPN on Week 1 or Month 1 basis, also called the non-cumulative basis. The employer does not choose between the two. Payroll follows the basis on the RPN.

Basis	How Payroll Calculates	Practical Effect
Cumulative	Pay, tax credits and the relevant cut-off points are accumulated from 1 January.	Earlier under- or over-deductions can be corrected through the cumulative calculation, including Emergency Tax refunds where appropriate.
Week 1 / Month 1	Each pay period is calculated separately using only that period's credits and cut-off points.	Unused credits do not accumulate and the employer cannot refund earlier Income Tax or USC until a cumulative RPN is issued.
Emergency	Special emergency tax and USC rules apply because no RPN is available.	Treatment becomes less favourable over time and remains in place until an RPN can be retrieved.

Why Revenue may use Week 1 or Month 1 basis

Revenue uses Week 1 or Month 1 basis for a range of circumstances. Its current guidance gives examples rather than a single closed list. Examples include a large reduction in tax credits that could create hardship, missing information about earlier employment or earnings in the current year, uncertainty about how long a person arriving from abroad will remain in Ireland, a transfer of tax credits and rate band to a spouse or civil partner, or a request by an employee who does not want a new employer to receive details of previous pay and tax.

The employer-facing rule is simple: use Week 1 or Month 1 only when the RPN instructs you to do so.

MULTIPLE EMPLOYMENTS

Multiple jobs and splitting tax credits

An employee with two or more jobs can divide their tax credits, Income Tax rate band and USC rate band between employments. That allocation can make one payslip look more heavily taxed than another without either employer having made an error.

Payroll should not manually move credits from one employment to another.

Employees can change the allocation in the ‘Manage your tax for the current year’ section of myAccount or contact Revenue. Revenue then makes updated RPNs available to the employers. Revenue’s multiple-jobs guidance confirms that splitting credits and bands changes where tax is deducted, not the employee’s overall tax liability.

Payroll should not manually move credits from one employment to another. If an employee wants a different allocation, they should change it through Revenue. The employer continues to operate the latest RPN until an updated notification is available.

LEAVERS & POST-CESSATION

Starters, leavers and post-cessation payments

Final payroll for a leaver

A leaving employee’s final payment is still calculated using the latest RPN for that employment. The employer includes the date of leaving on the final payroll submission. That cessation helps Revenue make the correct tax information available to a future employer.

Casual employees

For genuinely casual employees, the employer may not know on the last day worked that the employment has ended. Revenue’s Employers’ Guide allows a practical approach: where a casual employee has not been paid for three months, the employer should report a cessation using the last day the employee worked.

Payments after employment has ended

A payment made after cessation still has to be reported through payroll. The exact RPN process depends on whether the payment is made in the same tax year as the cessation.

If the payment is made in the same year the employee left, look up the available RPN, use the original Employment Identifier and cessation date, and report the payment date.
If the payment is made in a later tax year, request a new RPN without creating a new commencement date, then use the original Employment Identifier and cessation date when reporting the payment.

CHANGES & CORRECTIONS

What if an RPN changes after payroll has already been run?

A later RPN does not automatically mean an earlier payroll was wrong. RPNs can change because Revenue has updated credits, rate bands or other information after a pay date. If the employer correctly used the latest RPN available for that pay run, the new RPN is generally applied from the next applicable payroll calculation.

A correction is needed where the payroll submission itself contains incorrect information, or where the wrong RPN, employee, PPSN or Employment Identifier was used. Revenue allows payroll submissions to be corrected through payroll software or ROS.

Use Revenue’s payroll corrections guidance rather than trying to compensate for an error with an off-payroll net payment.

When an RPN result looks wrong

Employers sometimes receive an RPN with nil credits, a much smaller rate band or a basis the employee was not expecting. The employer should not override Revenue’s instruction merely because the employee disagrees with the result.

CROSS-BORDER

RPNs for non-resident and cross-border employees

Residence outside Ireland does not, by itself, remove the need to operate Irish PAYE or to obtain an RPN. The correct treatment depends on the employment, duties performed, tax residence, treaty position and whether Revenue has issued a PAYE Exclusion Order.

For an RPN guide, the safest operational rule is to avoid assuming that a non-resident employee is outside PAYE. If PAYE is required, the latest RPN should be used in the normal way. Where an Exclusion Order or another Revenue direction applies, payroll should follow that specific instruction.

Our Director Payroll in Ireland guide →

SCOPE LIMITS

What an RPN does not cover

Because the RPN sits at the centre of PAYE, it is easy to assume it controls every statutory payroll deduction. It does not.

Employment-law entitlements

Annual leave, sick leave, working-time and sectoral employment conditions are not determined by the RPN.

For those separate processes, see our MyFutureFund employer guide and Enhanced Reporting Requirements guide.

What goes wrong

Common RPN mistakes employers can avoid

Using an old RPN because the employee's circumstances appear unchanged.

The obligation is to use the latest RPN, not the most recent one already saved in payroll.

Processing a first payment without the employee's PPSN and expecting normal tax treatment.

No PPSN means no RPN. Emergency basis applies and an Employer Reference is required on the payroll submission.

Manually changing tax credits after an employee query.

Only Revenue can change the credits and cut-off points supplied to the employer.

Carrying a prior-year RPN into January.

RPNs are tax-year specific. A current-year RPN is required for payments made in the new tax year.

Ignoring the RPN number in the payroll submission.

Revenue uses the RPN number to check that the most up-to-date RPN was operated.

Telling every new starter to register the job themselves in myAccount.

Employees register their first employment in the State. Employers register subsequent employments by requesting an RPN.

Treating Week 1 basis as a payroll choice.

It is a Revenue instruction shown on the RPN. Payroll should not switch an employee between cumulative and non-cumulative treatment without Revenue’s instruction.

Using the wrong Employment Identifier.

This can link the pay to the wrong employment where an employee has dual roles or has recommenced.

Assuming Emergency Tax cannot be refunded through payroll.

A cumulative RPN can trigger a payroll refund of overpaid Income Tax and USC. A Week 1 RPN cannot.

Fixing a payroll error with a manual net adjustment outside payroll.

Correct the payroll record and Revenue submission so the employee payslip and Revenue data remain aligned.

WORKED EXAMPLES

Worked examples

The examples below are illustrative only. They are not individual tax advice or real client cases.

01 A new starter who has worked in Ireland before

A business hires an employee who previously worked for another Irish employer. The employee gives the new employer their PPSN. The new employer requests an RPN with the correct commencement date. That request registers the employment with Revenue. The employer then uses the RPN returned for the first pay run. The employee does not need to register this subsequent job as if it were their first employment in the State.

02 A first job in Ireland with no RPN yet

An employee is taking up their first employment in Ireland. They have a PPSN but have not registered the first job through Jobs and Pensions in myAccount. The employer cannot obtain an RPN, so emergency basis applies. Once the employee registers the job and Revenue makes an RPN available, the employer stops emergency treatment. If the RPN is cumulative, any overpaid Income Tax and USC identified by the cumulative calculation can be refunded through payroll.

03 An employee with two jobs

An employee keeps most of their credits and rate band with their main job and allocates a smaller share to a second job. The second employer’s RPN therefore shows fewer credits and a smaller cut-off point. The resulting deduction may look high compared with the first job, but payroll is correct if it follows the RPN. If the employee wants a different split, they change it through myAccount or Revenue.

04 Two employments with the same employer

A hospitality employee has two separate active employments with the same company and the employer keeps the pay records separate. The employments are assigned different Employment Identifiers. Payroll requests and applies the RPN associated with each employment. Using the identifier for the first role on the second role can create a mismatch even though the PPSN and employer registration are identical.

05 The first payroll of 2026

An employer runs monthly payroll in January 2026. Before calculating pay, payroll requests 2026 RPNs for every employee under the employer registration. One employee receives nil credits and a nil rate band. Payroll must use that RPN as returned rather than copying the employee’s December 2025 figures into January. If the employee believes the nil figures are wrong, they need Revenue to update the record.

EMPLOYER CHECKLIST

RPN employer checklist

Every one of these should be in place at the right stage of the payroll cycle.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Revenue Payroll Notification

What is an RPN?

A Revenue Payroll Notification is the employer-facing Revenue instruction used to calculate an employee’s Income Tax, USC and, where applicable, LPT. It contains the current tax credits, tax and USC cut-off points, tax basis and other relevant payroll instructions.

How often should an employer retrieve an RPN?

Before running payroll, the employer must request the latest RPN for each employee. The rule applies regardless of whether the payroll is weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly or irregular.

Does the RPN contain the employee's full tax-credit breakdown?

No. Revenue gives the employer the total tax credits and cut-off points needed to operate payroll. It does not disclose the employee’s personal breakdown of the credits claimed.

Does an RPN determine PRSI class?

No. PRSI is a separate social-insurance obligation. The RPN is used for Income Tax, USC and LPT instructions, not for deciding the employee’s PRSI classification.

What happens if there is no RPN?

The employer must operate emergency basis. If the employee has supplied a valid PPSN, the first four weeks use the emergency rules that allow a standard-rate cut-off point but no tax credits. From week five, all pay is taxed at the higher Income Tax rate. Without a PPSN, the higher rate applies from the outset. Emergency USC also applies.

Can an employer obtain an RPN without a PPSN?

No. Where a PPSN is unavailable, the employer uses an Employer Reference on payroll submissions and operates emergency basis until the PPSN is provided and Revenue can make an RPN available.

Who registers a new employee with Revenue?

For a person’s first employment in the State, the employee registers the job through Jobs and Pensions in myAccount. For subsequent employment, the employer registers the employment by requesting an RPN with the correct start date.

How does an employee get a refund of Emergency Tax?

Once the employer receives a cumulative RPN, payroll recalculates the Income Tax and USC position and refunds any overpayment identified by the cumulative calculation on the next relevant pay day. If Revenue issues a Week 1 or Month 1 RPN, the employer cannot make that refund until a cumulative RPN becomes available.

What is Week 1 or Month 1 basis?

It is a non-cumulative tax basis. Each pay period is calculated separately using that period’s credits and cut-off points. The employer uses it only when the RPN instructs them to do so.

Can an employer change an employee's tax credits?

No. Only Revenue can change the credits and cut-off points made available on the RPN. The employee can manage eligible credits and multiple-job allocations through myAccount or contact Revenue.

Why can a second job have little or no tax credits on its RPN?

The employee may have allocated most or all of their credits and rate band to another employment. Employees can split tax credits, Income Tax rate band and USC rate band between jobs. Each employer simply follows its own current RPN.

What is the RPN number used for?

Each RPN has a unique number. The employer includes the number of the RPN used to calculate deductions in the payroll submission. Revenue uses it to check that the employer operated the most up-to-date RPN.

Can a 2025 RPN be used for a payment made in 2026?

No. Revenue’s 2026 transition guidance specifically states that a 2025 RPN must not be used for payments made in 2026. Employers should request 2026 RPNs for all employees for the first payroll run of 2026.

What if Revenue systems are down and the latest RPN cannot be retrieved?

Revenue’s persistent-technology-failure rules allow an employer to use the previous RPN for the same tax year where the exception genuinely applies. If there is no previous RPN for that year, emergency basis is used. Revenue should be notified of the systems issue.

What happens when an employee leaves?

Use the latest RPN for the final payroll and include the cessation date in the payroll submission. If a payment is made after the employee has left, follow Revenue’s post-cessation rules for the tax year in which the later payment is made.

If a new RPN appears after payroll, must the previous payslip be amended?

Not simply because a newer RPN now exists. If the employer used the latest RPN available when the payroll was run, a later RPN is generally applied to the next applicable payroll. Amend an earlier submission where the information reported was actually incorrect or Revenue directs a correction.

Disclaimer: This guide is provided for general information only and is not tax, legal or professional advice. Revenue guidance, tax rates and administrative procedures can change. Employers remain responsible for operating payroll correctly and should check current Revenue guidance where a particular case is uncertain.

: This guide is provided for general information only and is not tax, legal or professional advice. Revenue guidance, tax rates and administrative procedures can change. Employers remain responsible for operating payroll correctly and should check current Revenue guidance where a particular case is uncertain.