Employees' tax and Social Security payments

Income Tax Instalment Scheme (ITIS)

You're required to make tax deductions from all your employees’ wages. This is known as ITIS (Income tax instalment scheme).

Your employees should provide you with their current ITIS rate when they start. You deduct this percentage from their salary each time they're paid. If a member of staff doesn't provide you with a rate, you charge them the default rate.

Social Security contributions

Social Security contributions are similar to ITIS, but you only pay them for your employees that meet the minimum earnings threshold. These payments go towards contributory benefits, including:

• short-term incapacity allowance (sick pay)
  
• long-term incapacity allowance
• parental benefit
• home carers allowance
  
• old age pension

Paying your employees' contributions

Registering as an employer for the first time

You may already be registered if you told us you were employing staff when you applied for a Business Licence. 

If you're not registered you need to register as an employer for ITIS and register as an employer for Social Security Contributions separately before you can pay tax and Social Security contributions for your staff. 

Once registered, you'll receive a letter or email with your business reference and a link to the Combined Employer Return portal. Visit filing your combined employer returns if you need help registering for the portal for the first time. Once registered you can complete the return.

Returns

You must submit your employees' ITIS and contributions returns every month by filing your combined employer returns.

Find out more on employing staff and your tax obligations.

To work out the amount of contributions you must pay for your employees each month use the contributions calculator.

Payment

You pay ITIS and Social Security contributions separately.

The total amount of ITIS you have deducted from all your employees must be paid every month. See payment methods on pay employers' ITIS.

Combined employee (6%) and employer (6.5%) Class 1 Social Security contributions must be paid every month. 

Benefits in kind

Benefits in kind (BIK) are anything you give your employees which is not money. For example, vehicles or accommodation.

Your employees must pay tax on BIK they receive.

As an employer you must provide your employees with a BIK statement at the end of each year for their personal tax return. You may also choose to pay taxes on BIK instead of your employees.

Find out more about benefits in kind including exemptions, how to calculate them and your obligations as an employer.