Tax on income that is not from your employer

If you are an employee, you usually pay tax through Pay As You Earn (PAYE). This means that your employer deducts your tax from your salary. PAYE is also used if you are getting an occupational pension.

If you are a PAYE worker or pensioner and you also have another source of income, this page explains how to report that income to Revenue.

If the income is over a certain amount, you make a tax return under the self-assessment system.

Self-assessment means that you are responsible for making your own assessment of the tax you owe.

When do I have to self-assess my tax if I am a PAYE taxpayer?

If you only have PAYE income, you do not need to self-assess your tax.

If you have PAYE income but you also have income from non-PAYE sources, you must make a tax return under self-assessment if the non-PAYE income amounts to:

• Taxable net income (after losses, capital allowances and other reliefs) of €5,000 or more in a year.

or

• Total gross income of €30,000 or more in a year. This applies even if you do not owe any tax on this income because it is reduced by losses, capital allowances or other tax reliefs.

If you have to self-assess your tax, this is known as being a chargeable person.

Can I earn non-PAYE income without having to use self-assessment?

If you are a PAYE taxpayer and you also have non-PAYE income, you do not have to use self-assessment if that income is:

• Net taxable income of under €5,000 (after losses, capital allowances and other reliefs) and
• Coded in against PAYE tax credits (see below) or fully taxed at source and
• Gross income of less than €30,000

Although you are not a chargeable person for self-assessment, you still have to inform Revenue of this income. See below for How to make a tax return if you do not have to use self-assessment.

In some cases, income from other sources can be coded in against your tax credits and standard rate cut-off point. Coding in means that Revenue will reduce both your tax credits and your standard rate cut-off point to match the tax due on your other income. This means that the tax due on your other income is collected under PAYE. This happens with taxation of social welfare payments, for example.

If you are a chargeable person, you must make your income tax return and self-assess your tax. You can:

• File Form 11 using the Revenue Online Service (ROS). You may be required to file online but you can apply to be excluded from the requirement to file online.
• Fill out the paper Form 11 (pdf) and send it to Revenue.

Revenue also provide a guide to self-assessment on their website and information and video guides on filing your tax return.

If you use ROS to make your tax return online, it will calculate your self-assessment based on the information you provide. You can choose to accept this calculation or input your own self-assessment.

If you use the paper Form 11, it includes a self-assessment section which you (or your agent) must complete and sign. If you file the paper tax return early, before 31 August, Revenue will complete the self-assessment section on your behalf.

Pay and File system

Under self-assessment there is a common date for the payment of tax and filing of tax returns. This is 31 October each year. This system, which is known as Pay and File allows you (or an agent) to file your return and pay the balance of tax outstanding for the previous year at the same time. Under this system you must:

• Pay preliminary tax for the current tax year on or before 31 October each year. The deadline for people who pay and file online using the Revenue Online Service (ROS) is usually slightly later. In 2024, the extended deadline is 14 November 2024.
• Make your tax return after the end of the tax year but not later than the following 31 October.
• Pay any balance of tax due for the previous tax year on or before 31 October.

For example, by 31 October 2024 you must:

• Pay your preliminary tax for 2024
• File your 2023 self-assessment tax return
• Pay any income tax balance for 2023

If you have non-PAYE income that you do not have to self-assess, you use Form 12 to declare it. You can:

• Fill out a paper Form 12 (pdf) and send it to Revenue
• Complete the online Form 12 – this electronic form is available through Revenue's myAccount service
• Fill out Form 12S (pdf) – this is a simplified tax return for PAYE taxpayers

Lo-call telephone numbers and contact details for Revenue regional offices are available on the Revenue contact page.

You can also send queries to Revenue through myEnquiries.