Reviewed by: MyTaxRebate Team on 10 Mar 2026 | Authority: s.472 TCA 1997
Quick Answer
Temporary and agency workers in Ireland are among the most frequently affected by PAYE overpayments. Under s.112 TCA 1997 (Schedule E), all employment income is taxed through PAYE. But temp and agency work often involves multiple short-term contracts with different employers or agencies - and each transition creates the same emergency tax risk as a permanent job change. Each time a new assignment starts with a new employer or agency, your credit certificate must be transferred. If you are on a new assignment before the certificate arrives, emergency tax at 40% applies. The Employee Tax Credit (s.472 TCA 1997, €1,875 in 2025) may also be applied only once rather than aggregated correctly across multiple assignments. These structural issues accumulate across a year of temp work, frequently producing overpayments significantly larger than those of a comparable permanent employee. All overpayments can be claimed for 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 in a single consolidated submission. The 2022 window closes on 31 December 2026.
What This Page Covers
- ✓Why temp and agency workers are particularly prone to PAYE overpayments
- ✓How emergency tax applies at the start of each new assignment
- ✓How the rate band is allocated across multiple temp employers
- ✓What additional reliefs temp workers can claim
- ✓How MyTaxRebate recovers overpayments from all assignments and agencies
Key Facts at a Glance
- ✓Each new assignment with a new employer or agency triggers the same credit transfer process - and the same emergency tax risk.
- ✓Emergency tax at 40% applies on each new assignment until Revenue issues a certificate to that employer or agency.
- ✓The Employee Tax Credit (€1,875 in 2025) may not be correctly applied across multiple short-term employers.
- ✓The standard rate band (€42,000 at 20%) is often not correctly split between concurrent agencies - causing higher-rate deductions on income within the standard band.
- ✓Gaps between assignments (where income dropped to zero) generate unused credits that further increase the refund.
- ✓Claims can be backdated for 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 - 2022 closes 31 December 2026.
How Emergency Tax Recurs for Temp Workers
For a permanent employee, emergency tax is typically a one-time event at the start of a job. For a temp or agency worker, emergency tax can recur every time a new assignment begins with a different employer. Each employer needs its own credit certificate from Revenue - and each time you start with a new employer, the certificate transfer takes time. If your assignment starts before the certificate arrives, the new employer uses emergency tax.
A temp worker who has four or five short-term assignments in a year, each with a different employer, may experience emergency tax at the start of each assignment. Even if each emergency tax period is only one or two weeks, the combined overpayment across all assignments can be substantial. The pattern is particularly common in sectors with frequent short-term placements: construction, IT contracting, healthcare locums, industrial and warehouse work, and hospitality.
Agency Payroll and Credit Allocation
Where an employment agency pays the worker (rather than each client company paying directly), the agency is the employer of record for PAYE purposes. This means the credit certificate is issued to the agency. If the agency also places you on new assignments without promptly updating Revenue of your details at the start of each placement, the same emergency tax issue can arise. Some larger agencies manage credit certificates efficiently; others do not. Reviewing the payroll records for each assignment period reveals exactly which periods were on emergency tax.
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The Legislative Position for Agency Workers
Under s.112 TCA 1997, employment income paid through an agency is assessed as Schedule E income and taxed through the PAYE system in the same way as direct employment. The Employee Tax Credit under s.472 TCA 1997 (€1,875 in 2025) applies equally to agency workers. The legal employer for PAYE purposes is the agency (not the client where the worker is placed), and the agency is responsible for operating PAYE correctly. Where the agency places a worker without the correct tax credit certificate in place - or switches a worker between client sites in a way that disrupts the credit allocation - emergency tax or incorrect deductions can result.
Why Agency and Temp Workers Are Particularly Exposed
Agency and temporary workers frequently experience multiple short-term assignments, gaps between placements, and rapid onboarding processes that may not include proper Revenue registration before payroll is first run. Each new assignment with the same agency may or may not trigger a fresh credit certificate check. Workers who move between multiple agencies in the same year are in an even more complex position, as their credits may be split across agencies in ways that do not reflect the correct rate band allocation. The cumulative effect of these issues across multiple assignments and years can produce a significant total overpayment.
How MyTaxRebate Handles Multi-Agency Claims
MyTaxRebate accesses Revenue's PAYE Modernisation records, which contain payroll submissions from every agency that paid you during the relevant years. We combine the income and deduction data from all agencies for each year, calculate the correct liability using your actual total income and all applicable credits and reliefs, and identify the overpayment across all employers. A single consolidated claim is submitted to Revenue for all four backdatable years, recovering overpayments from every agency and assignment period in one process.
The Four-Year Window for Agency Worker Claims
Agency and temporary workers can claim refunds for any year from 2022 to 2025 in which PAYE was operated on their income. The 2022 tax year closes permanently on 31 December 2026. Workers who had temporary or agency employment in 2022 - with emergency tax, multiple agencies, or other overpayment triggers - have until that date to recover the 2022 entitlement. A four-year review covering all years is particularly valuable for agency workers who may have had overpayments in multiple years across different assignments and agencies.
Revenue's four-year backdating window means agency and temporary workers can recover overpayments from 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 in a single consolidated claim. The 2022 tax year closes permanently on 31 December 2026 - workers with multiple agency assignments in 2022 who have not yet claimed that year's entitlement should act before the window closes. MyTaxRebate reviews all four years simultaneously, combining income from all agencies and assignments, and prepares a complete claim covering every overpayment period and additional relief entitlement. The full process is managed on your behalf - you do not need to gather payslips from each agency or contact Revenue directly at any point.
Revenue's four-year backdating window means agency and temporary workers can recover overpayments from 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 in a single consolidated claim. The 2022 tax year closes permanently on 31 December 2026 - workers with multiple agency assignments in 2022 who have not yet claimed that year's entitlement should act before the window closes. MyTaxRebate reviews all four years simultaneously, combining income from all agencies and assignments, and prepares a complete claim covering every overpayment period and additional relief entitlement. The full process is managed on your behalf - you do not need to gather payslips from each agency or contact Revenue directly at any point.
Check Your Claim
MyTaxRebate can review your position and guide the next step.
Tax Scenarios
Five assignments, four emergency tax periods
A construction worker placed by an agency had five assignments with five different main contractors in 2023. Four of the five triggered emergency tax at the start - each for one to two weeks. Combined emergency tax overpayment across those four periods: €1,840. Adding unused credits from three weeks of gap between assignments and flat-rate construction expenses, his 2023 refund was €2,280.
IT contractor - recurring emergency tax
An IT contractor placed through a specialist agency changed end-clients three times during 2024. Each change caused the agency to re-register the assignment with Revenue, creating a two-week emergency tax period each time. The combined emergency tax overpayment for 2024 was €1,560. MyTaxRebate identified this from payroll records and submitted the claim, which Revenue confirmed within four weeks.
Healthcare locum - four-year review
A locum pharmacist worked across multiple short-term placements in each year from 2022 to 2025. Each year had recurring emergency tax from assignment starts. MyTaxRebate reviewed all four years, identified emergency tax periods totalling 21 weeks across the four years, and submitted a consolidated claim. The total four-year refund was €3,640. Agency work and temporary assignments create some of the most frequently overlooked overpayment situations in the Irish PAYE system. A four-year review almost always identifies substantial amounts to recover.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- ✗Assuming the agency handles all tax admin: Agencies are responsible for deducting tax correctly per the certificate Revenue issues, but they cannot speed up the certificate transfer process. Emergency tax from delayed certificates must be claimed from Revenue by the worker.
- ✗Not keeping track of assignment start dates: To identify emergency tax periods, MyTaxRebate needs to know the approximate start dates of each assignment. Revenue's payroll records confirm the exact figures, but a general employment history from you helps structure the review.
- ✗Treating each assignment year as a separate, standalone review: A four-year consolidated claim recovers everything at once. Claiming one year at a time leaves money unclaimed while the four-year window closes.
- ✗Missing flat-rate expenses for the temp role's occupation: Construction workers, healthcare workers, and others in temp roles may still qualify for flat-rate occupational expense deductions even in a temp or agency capacity.
When This Does Not Apply
Key Takeaways
- ➤ Temp and agency workers experience recurring emergency tax across multiple assignments - each creating a separate, recoverable overpayment.
- ➤ Gaps between assignments generate unused credits that further increase the total refund.
- ➤ A four-year consolidated claim recovers all overpayments from 2022 to 2025 in a single submission.
- ➤ Flat-rate occupational expenses apply to temp workers in qualifying occupations - check if your role qualifies.
- ➤ MyTaxRebate reviews payroll records across every employer and agency in all four years before submitting.
Check Your Claim
MyTaxRebate can review your position and guide the next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it matter which agency placed me for each assignment?
For Revenue's purposes, the employer of record for each assignment determines which credit certificate applies. If the same agency placed you on all assignments, the same certificate should apply. If you worked through different agencies, each agency is a separate employer and a separate credit certificate is needed for each. MyTaxRebate accesses payroll records for all employers and agencies to build the complete picture.
Can I claim if I am registered as self-employed but paid through an agency?
If you are genuinely self-employed and invoice through an agency (receiving a net payment rather than being on the agency's payroll), you are not a PAYE employee for that income. However, if the agency operates you through payroll and deducts PAYE, USC, and PRSI - even if your engagement is described as contracting - you are a PAYE employee for that income and a PAYE refund claim applies.
How does MyTaxRebate identify emergency tax periods across multiple assignments?
Revenue's payroll records (accessible through the agent portal) show the tax deducted by each employer for each pay period. Where a period shows a 40% deduction rate on all income with no credits applied, this is identifiable as an emergency tax period. MyTaxRebate reviews these records for all employers within each year and isolates the emergency tax periods precisely.
Can I claim for temp work I did during college alongside my studies?
Yes. Temp and casual employment during college is subject to PAYE in exactly the same way as permanent employment. If you worked during college on a PAYE basis and had tax deducted, any overpayment from emergency tax or unused credits is recoverable for up to four years from the end of the relevant tax year. Many students who worked temp during college are owed significant refunds because their low annual income meant most of their credits went unused.
What if my agency went out of business?
Even if the agency that employed you is no longer trading, the payroll records submitted by that agency to Revenue remain accessible in Revenue's system for the four-year claimable period. PAYE payroll submissions are archived by Revenue and can be reviewed for refund claim purposes regardless of whether the employing entity still exists. MyTaxRebate can access these historic payroll records through the agent portal.
