Public-sector payroll technology brief — 5 October 2026

Revenue publishes the year-end transition guidance

Revenue’s operational guidance for moving PAYE processing from 2026 into 2027 is dated 29 September 2026. It covers submission years, Revenue Payroll Notifications (RPNs), employee identifiers and payments made after the work or employment has ended.

Payroll teams can prepare repeatable checks for these rules before the first 2027 run. The Excel, SQL and system-control suggestions below are this brief’s recommendations. They do not announce new tax rates or claim that Revenue requires a particular software product.

Keep submission years and RPN years aligned

Revenue separately requires emergency taxation where no RPN is available for an employee. Distinguish the year’s RPN availability from an individual employee’s missing RPN: a blanket ‘no RPN means never pay or submit’ control would miss that distinction.

• Keep 2026 and 2027 payment dates in separate payroll submissions, and put the correct year in each submission header.
• Do not file a submission with a 2027 pay date before the 2027 RPN is available. Never use a 2026 RPN for a payment made in 2027.
• Revenue states that 2027 RPNs will be available in early December 2026 and updated in real time from 1 January 2027. As at this brief’s 5 October date, early December is the stated timetable, not a completed release.
• Request RPNs for all employees under each employer registered number for the first 2027 payroll. Follow the returned details, including nil credits or a nil rate band.

Preserve employee identifiers across the year boundary

• Keep the employee’s Employment ID unchanged from year to year; the 2026 ID carries into the first 2027 RPN.
• For submissions without a PPSN, retain the mandatory employee employer-reference number and the individual’s name across the year boundary. This reference is separate from the employer’s registered number.
• When the PPSN becomes available, include it together with that employer-reference number on the next submission so Revenue can match earlier records.

Income earned in 2026 but paid in 2027

PAYE follows receipt of the payment. Pay made in 2027 uses the credits and bands in the 2027 RPN even when the work was done in 2026. Report it by the payment date; it belongs to the statement for the payment month.

Revenue’s example is December 2026 overtime paid in January 2027: include it in January’s payroll submission and use that period’s RPN. Do not move the payment back into a December submission because the attendance record relates to December.

Post-cessation payments

For a payment in the following year to someone who ceased employment in the previous year, Revenue requires a new RPN request without an employment commencement date. The payroll submission retains the original Employment ID and cessation date and includes the actual payment date. This is not a new employment record.

Reconcile payroll records when an employee leaves so that the cessation is recorded correctly. Consult the software provider about the process in the payroll package being used.

Practical controls for Excel, SQL or a payroll system

These are recommendations derived from the published rules. Use explicit validation and exception reports for year and identifier checks; keep an accountable reviewer for exceptions. An AI assistant can help explain the rules, but should not be the sole authority selecting a tax year or changing an employee identifier.

• Check that all payment dates in a submission have the same year and that it matches the header. A test submission containing both 31 December 2026 and 1 January 2027 should fail this check.
• Check the RPN year against the payment year, with a documented path for legitimate employee-specific emergency taxation.
• Compare Employment IDs and, where there is no PPSN, employee reference/name records with the previous year. Flag differences for reconciliation rather than silently assigning new identifiers.
• For a post-cessation payment, check the original ID, cessation date, new RPN request and current payment date.

Why these controls matter

An incorrect RPN year can produce wrong deductions. Inconsistent identifiers can prevent matching and may create duplicate employment records. Revenue explicitly requires emergency treatment for missing employee RPNs; it does not say that every header or identifier error automatically causes emergency taxation. These are control risks, not guaranteed outcomes for every invalid record.

October PRSI changes are now effective

The Department of Social Protection’s October 2026 PRSI changes took effect on 1 October, including the Class A and modified public-service rates covered in our September brief. Confirm the applicable pay date, class and subclass against the official 2026 guide. The PAYE transition guidance is not a complete 2027 PRSI, USC or tax-rate table.

Official sources

• Revenue — 2026–2027 transition overview (29 September 2026)
• Revenue — payroll submissions for 2027 and employee reference matching
• Revenue — requesting 2027 RPNs, availability and emergency treatment
• Revenue — 2026 income paid in 2027 and post-cessation payments
• Department of Social Protection — 2026 PRSI Contribution Rates and User Guide (SW14)

Try the related tools

• Read the September PRSI changeover brief
• Explore simulated Free Payroll Practice
• Read tool coverage and limitations