PAYE Modernisation Ireland 2025: 3 Hidden Penalties You Can’t Ignore

Real‑time payroll reporting has been in place since 2019, but many Irish employers still slip up. Under PAYE Modernisation, you must submit payroll data on or before the actual pay date—every pay run is a tax return. Missing or misstating even one can lead to penalties and compliance checks. Here are the three mistakes we still see—and how to stay penalty‑free.

1. Late or Duplicate Payroll Submissions (PSRs)

The rule is simple: each Payroll Submission Request (PSR) must reach Revenue on or before the date employees are paid.

What goes wrong:

• Submitting after funds hit employee accounts.
• Sending the same run twice because of software errors or manual re‑uploads.
• Including two tax years in one file (e.g., a 2024 and 2025 pay date together).

Why it hurts: Fixed fines can reach €4,000 per breach, plus €3,000 on the company secretary.

Quick fix:

• Lock your payroll calendar; submit before bank transfers are initiated.
• Run a pre‑submission check to catch duplicates.
• Double‑check the “pay date” in software vs. the date cash reaches staff.

2. Using an Old RPN (Revenue Payroll Notification)

You must retrieve and use the latest RPN for each employee before every run. Revenue issues new RPNs for the new year each December and updates them in real time.

Common slip‑ups:

• Relying on cached RPNs or pulling them once at year‑start and never refreshing.
• Not noticing mid‑year changes to credits or cut‑off points, leading to under‑deduction of tax and interest.

Quick fix:

• Force your software to fetch a fresh RPN each pay period.
• Keep an audit log of “RPN retrieved” dates for each employee.

3. Mismatched Pay Dates and Frequency

The “pay date” you report must be the date employees actually receive the funds. A mismatch between the bank transfer date and the PSR’s pay date can trigger queries.

Frequent issues:

• Changing weekly payroll to fortnightly but not updating payroll software fields.
• Processing December payroll in January (or vice versa) and reporting the wrong year.

Quick fix:

• Lock pay frequency in your software; change it only after running test files.
• Reconcile your bank upload file dates with PSR dates each cycle.

Monthly Payment Dates Still Matter

Even with real‑time submissions, payment of the liability is due by set days. Review and correct the monthly statement by the 14th of the following month and pay electronically by the 23rd to avoid interest and charges.

Quick Compliance Checklist for 2025

• Submit every PSR before pay is made.
• Use the latest RPN every run.
• Align pay dates and bank transfer dates.
• Accept or correct your monthly Revenue statement before the 14th.
• Pay electronically by the 23rd to avoid late‑payment charges.
• Keep logs of RPN download, PSR receipts, and any corrections.

How INDGenius Accounting Helps Irish Employers

• Real‑time PSR oversight: we track your submissions and flag anything late or duplicated.
• RPN health checks: automatic retrieval verification so you never use an old RPN.
• Monthly statement review: we reconcile your Revenue statement before the deadline.
• Audit trail creation: proper logs and documentation, ready if Revenue intervenes.
• Want a 15‑minute payroll check before your next run? Contact us and we’ll review your PSR/RPN process.