Employment Tax

As the employment tax landscape continues to evolve, it is becoming increasingly difficult for employers to keep pace with legislative change and meet their onerous obligations.

Bringing clarity to complexity

Keeping up-to-date with legislative changes and meeting your employment tax obligations can be challenging, especially given the increased level of scrutiny from authorities.

In addition, companies are incentivising their staff in new ways to attract and retain talent while offering flexibility in when and where employees work.

PwC's team of employment tax specialists have extensive knowledge to not only help you navigate the various complexities involved in meeting your employment tax obligations, but also to proactively manage your employment tax costs.

Strategic employment tax solutions

Combining our extensive tax knowledge with our technology capabilities, our global team of employment tax specialists provide a range of solutions for Irish-owned and multinational employers on all employment taxes and associated matters.

Employment tax compliance and risk

With increased scrutiny from authorities, it is important to manage your compliance and risk efficiently. Employers must identify the appropriate tax treatment of employee costs to ensure that their organisation remains compliant and manages risk while incentivising employees appropriately.

Employers must also be prepared for interventions and audits by the authorities. Developing the strategy and operating model needed to ensure compliance and reduce risk may require an orchestrated approach from several functions within the business. PwC can assist in coordinating this activity in Ireland and globally.

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Employment tax health check

As a result of the increased scrutiny from tax authorities, businesses are proactively reviewing their tax affairs. If compliance failures are identified, steps can then be taken to remedy this with Revenue before interventions take place. As the new Revenue framework places a greater onus on taxpayers to ensure that tax filings are correct, it is vital that companies are aware of their tax risk profile.

We can help you proactively manage tax risk and provide increased certainty by undertaking effective employment tax health checks. We utilise similar data analytics techniques to Revenue during an audit, which allows for decisive remediation. It also means that your organisation is better placed to deal with a risk review or audit in the future.

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Tax policy

Companies must ensure that their tax policies support their tax compliance framework and business strategies. With constant legislative updates and an ever-evolving workforce, it is important to have up-to-date policies.

PwC's global teams support companies in developing and implementing effective employment tax policies.

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Remote working

Working remotely brings many opportunities and benefits for employers and employees alike. These include attracting and retaining talent, fostering a happier and healthier workforce, increased productivity, fewer commutes, enhanced organisational reputation and the potential to reduce costs. However, employers must carefully navigate several factors to ensure that their workforce remains compliant under such hybrid working arrangements.

The 'work from anywhere' message can add a further layer of complexity when employees choose to work from another country.

PwC works with organisations to implement the most suitable policies, processes and infrastructure to support their remote working goals.

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Social security

With the continuous political spotlight on workers’ rights and the gig economy, the question of ‘employed’ versus ‘self-employed’ remains a critical question for organisations.

The matter usually arises as part of a PAYE Revenue Audit, but the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) has also placed services provided by personal service companies in the spotlight. This is evidenced by the increase in onsite DEASP visits.

Far from being 'just a tax issue', the determination of employment status can lead to significant social security costs for a deemed employer—potentially going back several years. Employment law and pension complexity also come into play when these reviews occur.

Our team has deep experience in advising clients on these issues and helping them manage social security risks for a range of issues, including contractors or services provided by third parties.

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Short-term business travellers

Business travel across borders is now back to pre-pandemic levels. To ensure compliance in all tax jurisdictions, employers must have processes and controls in place to track the number of days employees spend working in jurisdictions other than the one in which they are employed.

Should a foreign employee spend more than 30 workdays in Ireland during a tax year, employers must clarify whether an Irish payroll withholding tax obligation arises.

PwC works with organisations to navigate the complexities of business travel and implement the most suitable policies and processes to ensure compliance.

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Tax-effective strategies

Incentivising staff is imperative to attracting and retaining talent. Aligned to their strategic goals, companies are now offering employees extensive remuneration packages including salaries, short-term incentives, long-term incentives, share awards, non-cash benefits and flexible working arrangements.

PwC helps companies design and deploy tax-effective strategies when structuring their remuneration arrangements. Our employment tax specialists take a proactive and global approach to the often neglected related costs associated with remunerating a workforce.

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Meet the Workforce team

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Contact us

Pat Mahon

Partner, PwC Ireland (Republic of)

Tel: +353 86 172 6745

Sinead Kilgannon

Senior Manager, PwC Ireland (Republic of)

Tel: +353 87 614 6103

Lucy Maher

Manager, PwC Ireland (Republic of)

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