Post 3 - Taxation in Ireland

Scary subject but in Ireland you'll find that the tax are quite low compare to many other European countries: good news!

Basically for earnings up to €32.800 you will pay 20% of tax and for everything over €32.800 you will be taxed at 41%.

Taxes are subtracted from your salary so you do not need to worry about paying your tax. The money that you're paid into your bank account is yours to keep.

However if you have a car you will also need to pay a motor tax which can be quite expensive if you have a big car... Also the government has just introduced a Household charge for home owners and will introduce a Water tax at the end of 2014 (water was free so far!!!).

Here are 2 useful links: 

• Citizens.ie: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/tax/income_tax/how_your_tax_is_calculated.html
• Here is a link to a tax calculator to give you a rough idea: http://www.deloitte.ie/tc/

What you need to know is that taxes are low for a reason... You will need to pay for:

• your private health insurance (this not compulsory though so lots of young workers do not have one)
• your pension (banks offer pension plans and it is best to look at this as soon as you can afford it)

Also if you become unemployed you can get the "dole" but it is only €140 to 180 per week so it is best to save money for bad days.

Ireland is well known for low Corporation tax and that's why so many American Multinationals are now operating in Ireland. It is also true that young workers will get well paid and pay low taxes compare to most European countries. This is one of the reason why people are so happy in Ireland :)