Software engineer take-home pay in Ireland after tax, 2026

Engineer net pay by experience, Ireland 2026

The range is enormous. A graduate at an Irish company starts somewhere between €38,000 and €45,000. The identical candidate at Google Dublin starts at €65,000 to €80,000 before any equity or bonus. A few years into a FAANG-adjacent employer, a good equity year can push total compensation beyond €200,000.

Only base salary appears below, with no equity or bonus, assuming a single person claiming the standard PAYE credit of €1,775, employee PRSI at 4% and USC at the ordinary rates.

Bear in mind these are base figures. At FAANG and comparable employers the annual bonus normally adds 10% to 20% of base, and vesting RSUs contribute a great deal more, all of it taxed as income, since PAYE, USC and PRSI all apply at the moment shares vest.

Every deduction on a salary of €90,000

A senior software engineer on €90,000 at a Dublin tech firm (single, no dependents, no pension contributions):

Here is what surprises people. USC carries an 8% tier on everything above €70,044, so past that point the marginal rate becomes 40% PAYE plus 8% USC plus 4% PRSI, a 52% effective marginal rate. Ireland has no allowance taper producing a British-style 60% band, but its top marginal rate remains among the highest in Europe and arrives comparatively early.

Multinational against Irish employer: the gap is genuine

The difference between working for Google, Meta, or Salesforce vs a typical Irish software company is not subtle. For the same level of experience and role type:

• FAANG/hyperscaler: Senior SWE base €95,000-€130,000 + 15-25% bonus + RSUs worth €30,000-€80,000/year at vest
• Listed US tech (Salesforce, Workday, HubSpot): Senior base €80,000-€105,000 + 10-20% bonus + smaller RSU grants
• Fintech/scale-ups: Senior base €70,000-€95,000 + possible pre-IPO equity
• Domestic Irish companies / SMEs: Senior base €55,000-€75,000, less equity, more role stability

RSUs come with a sting: tax falls at vest and treats them as income, so €60,000 of shares vesting on top of a €110,000 base means the equity meets a 52% marginal rate that year. The common response is to push pension contributions to the age-related ceiling, which runs from 15% to 40% of salary depending on how old you are, and cut the combined exposure that way.

Pension contributions, the biggest lever you control

Pension relief here is generous by EU standards, since contributions to an approved scheme attract full income tax relief at your marginal rate. For an engineer paying 40% PAYE that means:

• A €10,000 pension contribution costs €6,000 net (40% tax relief = €4,000 saved)
• Age-related limits: under 30 = 15% of net relevant earnings, 30-39 = 20%, 40-49 = 25%, 50-54 = 30%, 55-59 = 35%, 60+ = 40%
• Annual earnings cap for pension contributions: €115,000 (2026)

At 35, on €90,000, the limit is 20% of salary, so €18,000 a year goes into the pension and all of it comes off PAYE. The saving is €7,200 a year, better than €600 a month, which is precisely why every Irish technology worker above €80,000 treats pension contributions as the first move.

Dublin against working remotely from elsewhere

A great many jobs that were Dublin-only before 2020 now run remote or hybrid. An engineer in Cork or Galway working for a Dublin multinational earns the same gross while paying €800 to €1,200 a month in rent rather than €2,000 to €2,400. Once housing is settled, the same salary leaves €1,000 to €1,500 more each month outside the capital.

Remote Work Tax Relief at €3.20 a day and the broadband grant schemes are minor by comparison. Whatever remote work is worth financially in Ireland, it is worth it because of rent.

Irish and British engineers compared

For a senior comparison (Irish €90,000 vs UK £80,000 - broadly similar purchasing power):

• 🇮🇪 Ireland €90,000 → €5,029/month (base only, no pension)
• 🇬🇧 UK £80,000 → £4,656/month (base only)

Converted at €1.17 to the pound, the Irish figure comes to roughly £4,298, marginally behind Britain at this level. Push past €100,000 and Irish gross pay grows more competitive while the net gap narrows. Because the Dublin multinational premium so often puts Irish engineers ahead on gross, the broadly similar effective rates end up mattering less than they appear to.

Frequently asked questions