Overview: money and tax issues

If your working hours are reduced

As a part-time worker, you will still pay PRSI as long as you earn at least €38 a week. If you are working part-time, your tax may also be affected or even reduced; you may be entitled to a tax refund and you should check if you can transfer some of your tax credits to your spouse, if they have higher earnings.

If you are working part-time and claiming a jobseeker’s payment for some days you should find out about tax and social welfare payments. There are some support schemes which provide help for those on low pay, such as Family Income Supplement or claiming a jobseeker’s payment for part of the week.

If you are paying into a pension scheme, you should talk to the pension provider, to find out what happens to your pension.

If you lose your job

If you lose your job you should register as unemployed with your local social welfare office even if you do not qualify for an unemployment payment. You may be able to sign on for credited PRSI contributions so that you maintain your contribution record for future payments, such as State pensions. If your husband or wife is also unemployed it is important that both of you sign on, providing you are eligible to do so.

You may be entitled to a tax refund if you have been out of work for some time. If your spouse is still working, your jobseeker’s payment may affect your joint tax; Jobseeker’s Benefit is taxable but Jobseeker’s Allowance isn’t.

Statutory redundancy payments are not taxable, but other redundancy payments are. There are certain rules which may reduce the amount you pay.

If you have been paying into a pension scheme, again you should talk to the pension provider, to find out what happens to your pension.

Debt and money advice

When something unforeseen, like unemployment, happens and you have a lot of extra expense, you might find that you can't keep up your payments or even pay your everyday bills.

There are resources available to help you in dealing with debt. The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) has a range of useful publications and tools on their website. MABS offers a one-to-one service which is provided at a number of locations around the country.