USC Charge Question

RichardAnd

Hi everyone,

I received a bonus payment in my April salary package. My employer has an APSS (profit sharing) scheme where we can put our bonus into shares and thus avoid tax, and I opted to take this option. 100% of my bonus has gone straight into stocks.

When I got my payslip, I could see the APSS option, and it was not subject to income tax. However, my USC was significantly higher than normal. What seems to have happened is that because the bonus was paid before being put into the APSS, my gross salary is nearly twice the normal figure, and seemingly I have been charged USC at a higher rate. My NET salary was thus about 600 euro lower than normal!

I was not expecting this, and I'm wondering whether this was an error. My salary has not increased, so I do not see why my USC charge could be higher. I've tried talking to my employer, but they aren't being helpful. I thus have two questions:

1. Is this erroneous?
2. If so, how can I go about getting a refund on the tax?

Cheers!

DataDude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058347561/usc-charge-question

It’s not an error.

APSS is subject to PRSI and USC. So assuming you earn over €70k. Your net pay will be whatever amount you put into APSS * 12% lower than normal.

hold my beer

You only avoid income tax on the shares, you still have to pay USC and employee PRSI on their value.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/additional-incomes/employment-related-shares/revenue-approved-share-schemes/approved-profit-sharing-schemes.aspx

RichardAnd

Thanks lads. Not the answer that I wanted, but good to know for the future :)