founderjob / Countries / Ireland
Employer of record in Ireland: the cost, the PRSI catch and the contractor test
Hiring someone in Ireland on €60,000?
It's €60,000 €67,740.
Plan for €67,740 a year. Employer PRSI at 11.4% applies to the whole weekly wage once it passes €552, and an employer of record adds €99 to $699 a month.
Employee, IrelandYearly cost to you
- Gross salary€60,000
- Employer PRSIClass A111.40%€6,840
- Auto-enrolment pensionMy Future Fund1.50%€900
Employer of record, your own company, or a contractor
Three ways to put one person to work in Ireland.
Employer of record
- Fits when
- A first person in Ireland when you have no Irish company and no plan for one yet.
- What you pay
- €67,740 a year, plus a monthly fee of €99 to $699.
- Watch out for
- Ask which entity runs the Irish payroll, and whether it says so on its own Ireland page. Several global providers say nothing about it either way.
Your own Irish limited company
- Fits when
- A team in Ireland that will grow, or a group that wants an EU base for more than payroll.
- What you pay
- €67,740 for each person, plus company formation, registering as an employer with Revenue, and running PAYE every pay period.
- Watch out for
- Once you register, every payroll mistake is yours to fix with Revenue, so line up a payroll bureau before the first pay date.
Contractor (self-employed)
- Fits when
- Someone who really runs their own business: they can send someone else to do the work, and they decide what, how and when.
- What you pay
- Their invoice, with no PAYE or employer PRSI on your side.
- Watch out for
- Revenue's five-question test after the Karshan judgment has moved some contractors into employment. If they are reclassified, you operate PAYE.
Keeping them as a contractor? Here's the bill if it goes wrong
A contractor costs you no employer contributions. If the role is really a job, the authorities can claim them back.
If the contractor is reclassifiedOn €60,000 a year
- Employer contributions you skippedEach year, at today's rates€7,740
- Years the authority can reach backNo time limitno limit
- Who decides 13 Nov, assets.gov.ie
- The Department of Social Protection decides PRSI status; Revenue decides tax.
- On top 13 Nov, revenue.ie
- Interest of 0.0274% a day on late PRSI, plus penalties.
Employer of record providers for Ireland, compared
17 providers say they can employ in Ireland. The table sorts them by published monthly fee, lowest first, and shows whether each one names its own Irish entity or a partner. 8 do not publish a price, and Ireland has fewer local specialists than the other countries we cover, so most of this list is global providers.
- Not statedNot stated
- Not statedNot statedNot read
- daysNot statedNot read
- $349billed yearlyNot statedNot stated
- within daysNot stated
- From 1 daysNot stated
- Not statedNot stated
- Not statedno standard deposit; refundable reserve may be required in some cases
- From 48 hoursrefundable deposit required, amount not stated
- Price not confirmedFrom two weeksNot stated
- Price not confirmed24 to 72 hours in supported marketsNot stated
- Does not publish a priceNot statedNot stated
- ParakarRegional firmDoes not publish a priceNot statedNot statedNot read
- Does not publish a priceNot statedNot statedNot read
- Price not confirmedNot statedNot stated
- Does not publish a priceNot statedNot stated
- Does not publish a priceFrom two weeksNot stated
The rules you sign up to in Ireland
Irish minimums come from the Organisation of Working Time Act, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act and statutory sick pay rules. Notice grows with service, so read the row for the length of service you expect.
- Minimum wage13 Nov, citizensinformation.ie
- €14.15 an hourFor employees aged 20 and over, from 1 January 2026.
- Paid holiday13 Nov, irishstatutebook.ie
- 20 daysFour working weeks a year.
- Probation13 Nov, workplacerelations.ie
- Up to 6 monthsExtendable to 12 months only in limited cases.
- Ending the contract13 Nov, irishstatutebook.ie
- 1 week's noticeAfter 13 weeks of service. 2 weeks from 2 years, 4 weeks from 5 years.
- Sick pay13 Nov, citizensinformation.ie
- 5 days a yearAt 70% of pay up to €110 a day, after 13 weeks of service.
Not in the total: A workplace pension or health plan you choose to offer instead. Class A1 employee from 1 October 2026. Auto-enrolment applies if the employee is 23 to 59 and not in a workplace pension.
Contractor or employee in Ireland: the five Karshan questions
The Supreme Court's judgment in the Karshan case set out a five-step framework for deciding employment status for tax, and Revenue now tells every business that engages workers to use it. The questions, in Revenue's words, shortened:
- Does the contract involve the exchange of a wage or other remuneration for work?
- Has the worker agreed to provide their services personally, with very limited or no option to delegate?
- Does the business control what, how, when or where the work is done?
- What do the facts and circumstances say about the true nature of the relationship?
- Is there any legislation that changes the answers?
A "no" to any of the first three means self-employed, subject to question 5. Three "yes" answers send you on to questions 4 and 5.
Revenue is blunt about the consequence: some workers previously treated as self-employed now need to be treated as employees for tax, and for them the business has to operate PAYE. The joint Code of Practice on determining employment status, shared by the Department of Social Protection, Revenue and the Workplace Relations Commission, was updated in November 2024 to match.
For a founder with one Irish contractor on a monthly retainer, run the three gate questions honestly. If all three are yes, an employer of record is one way to get them onto a PAYE payroll without an Irish company.
Employer PRSI: one rate on the whole wage
Irish employer PRSI is easy to misread. The gov.ie Class A table sets the employer rate by weekly income band, and the column "how much of weekly income" says "All". For an employee earning more than €552 a week (subclass A1), the employer rate of 11.4% applies to the full weekly pay, not only to the part above €552.
The rates also changed on 1 October 2026: the gov.ie table shows higher employer rates from that date than before it, in every band.
That is why our Ireland numbers may differ from calculators that treat PRSI as a marginal rate, or that still run on the old table. Above €552 a week, which is €28,704 over 52 weeks, the whole gross carries the top rate.
The same €60,000 hire across Europe
Total yearly cost to the employer. Light is the salary, blue is what the employer adds by law. Try your own salary.
LowerHigher
Being checked
Questions founders ask about Ireland
How much does an employer of record cost in Ireland?
On a €60,000 salary, the employment costs €67,740 a year, most of the extra being employer PRSI at 11.4% on the whole wage. Then the EOR fee, €99 to $699 a month across providers with a public price. 8 providers want you on a call before they name a number.
Contractor vs employee in Ireland: how do I tell?
Use Revenue's five-step framework from the Karshan judgment. Start with three questions: is it pay for work, must the person do it personally, and do you control what, how, when or where it is done? A "no" to any of them points to self-employment. Three yeses mean you look at the full facts and any relevant legislation next.
Does employer PRSI apply to the whole salary in Ireland?
Yes, once weekly pay passes €552. The gov.ie Class A table applies the employer rate to all of the weekly income in each band, so a salary above that threshold carries 11.4% on every euro. Calculators that treat it as a marginal rate understate the cost.
Which is the best employer of record in Ireland?
We do not pick one, because the right answer depends on what you need. The table sorts by published price. Then check two things: whether the provider says it has its own Irish entity, and whether it states a deposit or minimum term. A provider with no published price can still be the cheapest; you only learn that from a written quote.
Do I need an Irish company to hire someone in Ireland?
Not with an employer of record. It employs your person on an Irish contract and runs PAYE and PRSI through its own payroll. Your own Irish limited company is the alternative when the team grows: you register as an employer with Revenue and run payroll yourself.
What changed
- Employer PRSI corrected: 11.40% applies to all weekly pay above €552 (gov.ie), not only the part above it.
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