PAYE Tax Refund for Workers with Multiple Jobs Ireland 2025

Reviewed by: MyTaxRebate Team on 10 Mar 2026 | Authority: s.472 TCA 1997

Quick Answer

Working two or more jobs in Ireland - simultaneously or in sequence during the same tax year - almost always results in overpaid PAYE tax. Under s.112 TCA 1997 (Schedule E), your standard rate band of €42,000 at 20% is typically allocated entirely to your primary employer. Income from a second employer is then taxed at 40% from the first euro, even if your combined income from both employers is below the €42,000 threshold. The Employee Tax Credit (s.472 TCA 1997) of €1,875 is also allocated to one employer - if it was applied incorrectly across your employment history, the unclaimed balance is recoverable. MyTaxRebate reviews your complete employment history, calculates the precise overpayment across all employers, and submits the recovery claim directly to Revenue. Claims can cover 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

What This Page Covers

• ✓Why multiple jobs always create a tax overpayment risk
• ✓How the standard rate band is allocated between employers
• ✓What happens when you change jobs mid-year
• ✓How to calculate the approximate overpayment
• ✓How MyTaxRebate recovers the correct amount from Revenue

Key Facts at a Glance

• ✓Your standard rate band (€42,000 at 20%) is allocated to one primary employer by Revenue - income from a second employer is taxed at 40% by default.
• ✓You can request Revenue to split your standard rate band between two employers, but this must be done proactively - it does not happen automatically.
• ✓The Employee Tax Credit of €1,875 is also applied once and not automatically split - if it was allocated to an employer you left, the credit may not have been fully used.
• ✓Changing jobs mid-year without transferring your tax credit certificate to the new employer creates an emergency tax overpayment.
• ✓All overpayments across multiple employers in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 can be recovered in a single consolidated claim.
• ✓The 2022 window closes on 31 December 2026.

Why Multiple Jobs Almost Always Create an Overpayment

Revenue's PAYE system assigns each employee a tax credit certificate that specifies their credits and standard rate band. When you work for a single employer, this is straightforward - your employer applies the certificate and deducts tax at the appropriate rate. When you have two or more employers, Revenue must split the standard rate band between them. Unless you specifically request this split, Revenue defaults to allocating the full standard rate band to your primary (main) employer. Your second employer then deducts tax at 40% on all income it pays you - even if your combined income from both employers is below €42,000. This creates a systematic overpayment every pay period from the second employer.

Example: You earn €35,000 from your main job and €8,000 from a part-time second job. Your combined income (€43,000) exceeds the standard rate band, but only by €1,000. Your main employer taxes €35,000 at 20%, and your second employer taxes the full €8,000 at 40%. The correct position is that €7,000 of the second job income should be taxed at 20% (to use up the remaining standard rate band) and only €1,000 at 40%. You overpay 20% on €7,000 = €1,400 in that year alone.

Changing Jobs Mid-Year

When you leave one employer and start another during the same tax year, your standard rate band and credits were allocated to your previous employer from the start of the year. Your new employer does not automatically receive this allocation - it must be transferred by Revenue. Until the transfer is processed, your new employer typically places you on emergency tax (40% flat deduction). Even after the transfer, there may be a period of overpayment. Any tax overpaid during the emergency tax period with the new employer, and any remaining overpayment once the year's full income is calculated, is recoverable.

How Revenue Corrects the Position

Revenue resolves multiple-employer overpayments through the annual review process. When a claim is submitted, Revenue combines income from all employers for the year, applies the standard rate band and credits correctly across the total income, and recalculates the final liability. Where the recalculated liability is lower than the total tax deducted across all employers, the difference is refunded. For most workers with two jobs, a substantial portion of the second income that was taxed at 40% should have been taxed at 20%, producing a refund of approximately 20 cent per euro of income on that portion.

Acting for Prior Years vs Going Forward

For prior years (2022 - 2024), the overpayment can only be recovered through a backdated claim. For the current year (2025), you can request a rate band split prospectively by contacting Revenue, which will instruct each employer on the correct tax rate going forward. MyTaxRebate handles both: submitting backdated claims for prior years and, where applicable, advising on how to correct your position going forward so the overpayment does not recur.

What to Do if You Currently Have Two Employers

If you currently hold two jobs simultaneously, you can request a rate band split from Revenue prospectively - this instructs each employer on the correct portion of the €42,000 standard rate band to apply, preventing further overpayment from accruing. For prior years (2022 - 2024) where the band was not split and an overpayment resulted, a backdated claim is the only route to recovery. MyTaxRebate assists with both: submitting backdated claims for prior years and, where applicable, advising on the correct prospective rate band allocation with Revenue so the issue does not recur.

MyTaxRebate reviews PAYE income from all employers across all four claimable years simultaneously, identifying every multiple-employer overpayment and combining it with any additional reliefs in a single consolidated Revenue claim. The process is managed entirely on your behalf, from the initial records review through to final payment confirmation.

MyTaxRebate reviews PAYE income from all employers across all four claimable years simultaneously, identifying every multiple-employer overpayment and combining it with any additional reliefs in a single consolidated Revenue claim. The process is managed entirely on your behalf, from the initial records review through to final payment confirmation.

Tax Scenarios

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• ✗Not notifying Revenue of a second job: Revenue only splits your standard rate band if you inform them of your second employment - it does not happen automatically. You can request this at any time, but the correction only applies going forward.
• ✗Assuming the year-end corrects itself: Revenue's PAYE Modernisation system (2019) improved real-time payroll data but does not automatically process year-end refunds for multiple-employer situations.
• ✗Not claiming prior years: Multiple-employer overpayments typically recur year after year if the rate band split was never requested. A review of all four years often reveals consistent annual overpayments.
• ✗Treating each employer's tax deduction as correct in isolation: Each employer deducts correctly based on what Revenue told them - the error is in the overall allocation, not in any individual employer's deduction.

When This Does Not Apply

Key Takeaways

• ➤ Multiple jobs in Ireland almost always result in a PAYE overpayment due to how the standard rate band is allocated.
• ➤ The overpayment typically equals 20% of the second employer's income that should have been taxed at the lower rate.
• ➤ This applies to simultaneous jobs and to sequential jobs within the same tax year.
• ➤ A four-year review often reveals consistent annual overpayments - all of which are recoverable.
• ➤ MyTaxRebate reviews all employment periods together and submits a consolidated claim for all claimable years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Guides

• Complete guide to PAYE tax refunds Ireland 2025
• Two jobs in the same year - PAYE tax calculation guide
• Incorrect tax deductions on your salary - what to do
• How much is the average PAYE tax refund in Ireland?