Employing a carer at home in Ireland: how payroll works

When you employ a carer directly, paying their wages brings a few more jobs with it: calculating deductions, providing payslips and reporting pay to Revenue. Carer Payroll handles that administration from €329 a year including VAT. You give us the hours and changes, pay your carer and make sure tax and pension payments are covered.

This guide is for people directly employing a carer for themselves or a family member in the Republic of Ireland. For Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, visit Carer Payroll UK.

Am I the carer's employer?

If you employ and pay the carer directly, you are the employer. You need to register with Revenue and operate PAYE, including the relevant Income Tax, PRSI and USC deductions.

If you pay a care agency that employs and pays the carer, the agency normally handles those payroll obligations. An agency that only introduces you to a carer may leave you as the employer, so establish who employs the person before making arrangements. Revenue explains the distinction between direct employment and agency care.

Carer Payroll provides payroll administration for the employment you arrange. If an agency already runs the carer's payroll, you may not need a separate service.

How much does Carer Payroll cost?

A tailored employment contract is available as an optional extra. Ask us to confirm the price and what is included when you choose your plan.

The payroll fee is only one part of your care budget. You also need to allow for gross wages, employer PRSI, any employer pension contribution and employment entitlements such as paid leave. Gross pay means pay before employee deductions; take-home pay is the amount you transfer to your carer.

Agree the pay frequency with your carer. Monthly means 12 payments a year, while paying every four weeks normally means 13.

View the payroll plans.

Can I claim tax relief for employing a carer?

You may qualify for income tax relief if you pay for a carer for yourself or a qualifying relative who meets Revenue's condition of being “totally incapacitated” because of physical or mental infirmity. The relief is not automatic simply because someone needs help at home. See Revenue's eligibility guidance.

The deduction is based on qualifying costs you actually pay, up to €75,000 a year for each person receiving care. It is allowed at your marginal income tax rate. The €75,000 figure is a limit on the costs eligible for relief, not an amount Revenue pays back. Revenue sets out the relief calculation.

For example, €20,000 of eligible costs relieved entirely at 40% would reduce income tax by €8,000. Your actual saving depends on your qualifying costs and tax position.

If family members share the cost, they share the overall limit in proportion to what each pays. Relief is not available for costs funded by the HSE or a local authority, or for employing someone solely as a housekeeper. Check the restrictions before budgeting on the assumption that all spending qualifies.

Keep records of payments and ask us about the claim process. Revenue allows claims through myAccount or ROS; its detailed guidance explains shared claims and the application process.

What does the payroll service include?

We register you for employer PAYE, calculate payroll and send the required payroll information to Revenue. For every pay period, your carer receives a payslip and you receive a summary showing take-home pay, deductions and the amounts due to Revenue.

Our standard service also includes:

• Payroll advice and support.
• Revenue correspondence relating to your carer's payroll.
• An annual summary of pay and deductions.
• Holiday entitlement support and online leave management.
• Payroll setup for starters and processing for leavers.
• Help with payroll where a carer has more than one employment.
• MyFutureFund contribution calculations and submissions where applicable, with help setting up payment to NAERSA.
• Help setting up a Revenue direct debit if you want to use one.

Your payroll summaries are available in the online members' area. Your carer can use the Employee Self-Service app on iOS or Android to view payslips and request annual leave. You approve leave requests online, and email notifications can tell you when new payroll information is ready.

What remains my responsibility?

You remain the employer when you use a payroll service. Revenue confirms that responsibility for payroll compliance stays with the employer, including when a payroll company handles the submissions. Pay information must reach Revenue on or before payday. See Revenue's payroll submission rules.

In practice, you need to:

1. Agree the employment arrangements and provide the required written terms.
2. Send accurate hours, pay changes and relevant leave information by the deadline.
3. Check your payroll summary and flag anything that needs correcting.
4. Pay your carer the take-home amount on the agreed payday.
5. Make the Revenue and pension payments, keeping enough funds available for direct debits.
6. Tell us when a carer starts or leaves, your details change, or the employment ends.

Employment rights, including pay, working time and leave, also apply. The WRC's domestic-worker guidance explains the main responsibilities.

If you choose the contract service, we can prepare a tailored employment contract using your completed questionnaire. Agree the duties, pay, hours and start date with your carer first so the document reflects the arrangement.

How do I set up the first payroll?

Start with the application form. We need the employment details, including the carer's start date, agreed pay, usual hours and pay frequency. Complete the contract questionnaire too if you have chosen that service.

We then set up payroll and your employer registration. We arrange the relevant forms for Revenue direct debit, if chosen, and MyFutureFund payments where applicable. Follow our onboarding instructions when providing personal or financial information.

Before the first payment, confirm the period it covers, the payday and the deadline for submitting hours. If several relatives help organise care, agree who will send payroll instructions so changes do not get missed or sent twice.

If hours stay the same, we can use standard hours each period unless you tell us otherwise before the deadline. If hours vary, send a completed timesheet. We can supply a template.

When do I send timesheets?

These are the standard arrangements in our welcome pack. Confirm the first pay date and any bank-holiday changes during setup.

For weekly payroll, the carer works a week, you send the hours the following Monday, and you pay the calculated wages that Friday. This is what “a week in arrears” means.

For monthly pay with regular hours, we can annualise the salary so the agreed gross amount is the same each month. Tell us promptly if actual hours differ from an estimate so we can confirm the adjustment and any correction needed.

How do I pay my carer, Revenue and pension contributions?

There are separate payments to keep track of:

Revenue's variable direct debit collects the monthly balance on the third-last working day of the following month.

For monthly remitters without that direct debit, payment is normally due by the 14th of the following month, extended to the 23rd where you file and pay online through ROS. Approved quarterly and annual arrangements have different payment periods. Use Revenue's deadline guidance and confirm which arrangement applies to you.

Does my carer need a MyFutureFund pension?

MyFutureFund can apply to carers employed by families. NAERSA assesses eligibility using payroll information, including the 23-to-60 age range, the €20,000 earnings threshold across all jobs and pension coverage through payroll for the relevant employment. See MyFutureFund's employer guidance.

A carer can qualify through their combined earnings from several jobs. Having a pension through one job does not necessarily exempt their employment with you. NAERSA explains how it assesses multiple employments.

For 2026 to 2028, enrolled employees contribute 1.5% of gross pay, employers add 1.5% and the State adds 0.5%, subject to the scheme's earnings limit. The employer's share is an extra cost on top of gross wages. Rates increase in later years; see the contribution schedule.

We calculate and submit the contributions through payroll and help set up the direct debit to NAERSA. Keep enough money available for the employee and employer amounts with each payday. Pension contributions are due by payday, with collection following NAERSA's direct debit process. They do not follow Revenue's monthly payment schedule. See MyFutureFund's payment obligations.

Your carer's first opt-out window is in months seven and eight after enrolment. If they opt out and remain eligible, they will normally be re-enrolled after two years. MyFutureFund explains the options for members.

Talk through your care arrangement

If you are ready to set up payroll, choose a Carer Payroll plan. If you are still working out hours, pay frequency or who will employ the carer, call 01 234 3788 or email info@carerpayroll.ie to discuss the arrangement.