By Elizabeth Kelly, 10th March 2026
PREM registration is a mandatory process in Ireland whereby businesses and individuals must register as an employer with the Revenue Commissioners once they hire an employee. Employers must notify Revenue of their employer’s name, address and intention to pay staff.
As an employer, you will have to deduct the following from your employee’s gross pay:
- Income Tax
- Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI)
- Universal Social Charge (USC)
- Local Property Tax (LPT) deduction at source (only if applicable)
As an employer, you should report an employee’s pay on or before the date of payment to the employee.
A company must register as an employer and operate PAYE on the income of directors, even if there are no other employees.
If you hold a directorship in an Irish incorporated company, you must pay PAYE on your income as a director. This applies regardless of your tax residency status or where you perform your work duties.
You do not need to register as an employer if you have a domestic employee and you:
- pay them less than €40 per week, and
- have only one such employee.
New Regulations Surrounding PREM Registration
While you should register as an employer as soon as you hire an employee and before you pay them, Revenue does allow for the correction of payroll data submissions to reflect actual start dates if necessary. Backdating is generally not allowed for specific, time-sensitive schemes like the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS).
With effect from the 2nd of March 2026, Revenue will now only allow an employer to backdate a PREM registration by one period via the Revenue Online Service (ROS). If backdating is required for more than one period, the taxpayer will be required to register as usual on ROS for the current period and follow up through MyEnquiries, detailing the following:
- the date they wish to backdate the registration to.
- the reason they require registration to be backdated including the first employees’ start date.
- advise whether making a voluntary disclosure has been considered in dealing with the retrospective element of the registration.
If you require any further information in relation to any of the above, we at Company Bureau would be delighted to assist you with this. Contact our team online through our contact form here!
Disclaimer: This article is for guidance purposes only. It does not constitute legal or professional advice. No liability is accepted by Company Bureau for any action taken or not taken in reliance on the information set out in this article. Professional or legal advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from any action as a result of this article. Any and all information is subject to change.
