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Why was my overtime taxed at 40%?

Overtime isn't taxed at a special rate — it's taxed at your marginal rate. Here's how the standard rate cut-off point decides what you keep.

There is no separate "overtime tax". Overtime is added to your gross pay and taxed at your marginal rate — the rate that applies to the last euro you earned.

The standard rate cut-off point

Income up to your standard rate cut-off point is taxed at 20%. Everything above it is taxed at 40%. Add PRSI and USC on top, and the last hours of a heavy overtime week can be reduced by roughly half before they reach you.

A worked example

Say your overtime adds €300 gross in a week, and €120 of it sits above your cut-off point. The €180 below is taxed at 20%, the €120 above at 40% — plus PRSI and USC on the whole €300. The result is a take-home figure well below the headline 1.5× rate you were promised.

It isn't lost money

Because Irish PAYE is cumulative, if your later weeks are quieter your unused band is restored and the tax evens out over the year. You only permanently pay 40% on income that stays above the cut-off point across the full tax year.

See it on your own payslips

MySalaryPal's overtime insight shows exactly what your last block of overtime hours was worth after tax — using your own hourly rate and band position, not a generic calculator.

Common questions

Is overtime taxed differently to normal pay?

No. It's added to your gross pay and taxed at the same PAYE, PRSI and USC rates — it just often falls above your standard rate cut-off point.

Can I get the extra tax back?

If your cumulative income for the year stays below the higher-rate threshold, the cumulative PAYE system refunds the difference in later pay periods or at year end.

Check your own payslip

Upload the PDF your employer already sends you. MySalaryPal reads every line, balances the maths and flags anything that doesn't add up.

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