Employees paying PAYE can see the immediate impact of the 1998 Budget measures on their take-home pay from these tables. Choose the table which covers your marital status. Then take the gross annual income closest to your own income in the first column and refer across the table to see how your take-home pay will change in the 1998/99 tax year.
The impact of the Budget measures on single taxpayers and on married couples with one spouse earning is shown for different income levels. Private and public sector employees are shown separately because public sector employees pay PRSI contributions at 0.9 per cent compared to 4.5 per cent for private sector employees.
The reduction of the standard tax rate from 26 per cent to 24 per cent and the widening of the standard tax rate income band by £100 to £10,000 for a single person and by £200 to £20,000 for a married couple will benefit all taxpayers.
In the next tax year a single worker will be able to earn £13,950 before moving up to the top tax rate, up from £13,600 this year.
A married couple with one income will move to the top tax rate when their income goes above £27,100. This year they move to the top rate at £26,400.
The cut in the top tax rate from 48 per cent to 46 per cent will benefit higher earners only - it will be worth an extra £2 for every £100 currently taxed at 48 per cent.
For public sector employees the first £20 of weekly income continues to be exempt from PRSI contributions. For private sector workers the first £100 of the weekly income will be exempt in the next tax year, up from £80 in 1997/98. This exemption will help all private sector employees but the impact of the increase in the ceiling for contributions from £23,200 to £24,200 will hit people at higher income levels.
The widening of the standard rate tax band, the two percentage point cut in the standard tax rate and increases in personal allowances and the PRSI weekly income exemption will benefit all PAYE taxpayers. Taxpayers with children will benefit from the increase in the child benefit. The claw-backs come in the form of the higher income ceiling for PRSI and health contributions which increased from £10,250 to £10,750.