KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: How to review your tax for PAYE taxpayers

1 February 2026
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie

Many employees never take the time to interact with the Revenue Commissioners. That’s because their employer has already handled the calculation and payment of tax, but employees can interact directly with Revenue

You can check your income and the tax you paid in previous years and whether you paid the correct amount.

You can check:

• How much you were paid by your employer or pension provider and how much was deducted from your pay
• Whether you paid too much or too little income tax and USC
• Whether you are due a refund or whether you owe tax, taking into account all your income tax credits and liabilities

How can I check my tax deductions and my pay for the year?

To see what your employer or pension provider paid you and what they deducted in tax, you can get an Employment Detail Summary through Revenue’s myAccount service.

Your Employment Detail Summary shows the paay, income tax, Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) and Universal Social Charge (USC) deducted by your employer and paid to Revenue over the year. It also records your Local Property Tax (LPT) deductions if you choose to have LPT deducted from your pay. Before 2019, this information was provided on a form called a P60.

To view your Employment Detail Summary:

1. Sign in to myAccount
2. Go to the ‘PAYE Services’ section
3. Click on ‘Review your tax 2020–2023’
4. Select the specific year folder from the ‘Tax year’ dropdown list
5. Click ‘View’ to view the Employment Detail Summary

You can also save or print this document and use it in the same way as the Form P60, for example, as proof of income.

How can I check if I am due a tax refund or if I owe tax?

Your Preliminary End of Year Statement shows whether you have paid the correct amount of income tax and USC for the year. This is based on your income and deductions as reported by your employer or pension provider.

To view your Preliminary End of Year Statement:

1. Sign in to myAccount
2. Go to the ‘PAYE Services’ section
3. Click ‘Review your tax for the previous 4 years’
4. Select the specific year folder from the ‘Tax year’ dropdown list
5. Click ‘Request’ in the Statement of Liability section
6. Your Preliminary End of Year Statement will be shown on the next page.

The statement for a year is usually available from mid-January of the following year. So you should be able to access your 2024 statement in mid-January 2025.

The Preliminary End of Year Statement may show that you have paid too much tax or too little.

If it shows an overpayment, you can claim a refund by making a tax return. Refunds are paid by cheque or by bank transfer if you provide your bank account details.

The Preliminary End of Year Statement only takes into account the information on Revenue’s records. If the statement shows an underpayment, you need to get a final statement of income tax due taking into account any credits or reliefs you may be entitled to. This is called a Statement of Liability.

How do I get a final Statement of Liability?

The Statement of Liability is a final review of your tax liability for a tax year. It was previously known as the P21–End of Year Statement.

You must complete an income tax return to request your Statement of Liability.

By completing an income tax return you can:

• Change existing tax credits or declared income
• Declare additional income, for example rental income or income from casual work
• Claim additional credits or reliefs, for example medical expenses

You can use your Statement of Liability in the same way as the P21, for example, as proof of income.

How do I get a Statement of Liability?

You must complete an income tax return to get a Statement of Liability. This applies even if there are no changes needed to your record and you have no additional tax credits to claim or additional income to declare. There is a short video on revenue.ie which shows you how to request a Statement of Liability and complete an Income Tax Return.

Your Statement of Liability will normally be available within 5 working days from the date you make a request. It will be available under ‘My Documents’ in your myAccount. To view it:

1. Sign in to myAccount
2. Click on ‘My Documents’ at the top of the myAccount home page
3. Select the specific year folder from the ‘Summary’ screen
4. Click ‘View PDF’ to view the Statement of Liability.

Is there a time limit for when I can request my Statement of Liability for a particular tax year?

You can get your Statement of Liability for the last 4 years (you can only claim a refund of overpaid tax for the last 4 years). From January 2026, you can request a Statement of Liability for the years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

If I owe tax, how do I pay it?

There are various reasons why you may have underpaid tax.

If your Statement of Liability shows that you owe tax of less than €6,000, you have the option to:

• Pay all or part of it through myAccount
• Pay all or the remaining part of it by having your tax credits reduced for up to 4 years.

If the amount you owe is over €6,000, you can pay the amount through myAccount or contact Revenue to discuss repayment options.

How does an underpayment arise?

There are a number of reasons why you may have underpaid tax, for example:

• Your employer or pension provider may not have used the most up-to-date Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN). This may have resulted in incorrect tax credits or standard rate cut-off point being applied to your income.
• There may have been a deduction or removal of a tax credit. As a result of this, additional tax due may not have been fully collected during the tax year.
• There may have been a change in your pay frequency. For example, a change from being paid weekly to fortnightly.
• There may have been a change in your employment during the year. This could have resulted in you receiving more than 52 weeks tax credits or rate band against your income.
• The death of a spouse or partner, separation or divorce was not advised to Revenue. This would mean an adjustment to your tax credits or rate band was required.
• Your Illness Benefit payment(s) may not have been fully taxed during the tax year or you may have received pension or benefit payments from the Department of Social Protection (DSP) which resulted in DSP income not accounted for during the tax year or an increase in payments from the DSP which were not fully taxed during the tax year.

What if I am not registered for myAccount?

You can get a paper version of your Statement of Liability if you complete a paper Form 12  or Form 12S  (a simplified version for routine tax returns) and return to your local tax office.

Unless you are exempt from using Revenue’s online services, you must register with myAccount to access your Employment Detail Summary and Preliminary End of Year Statement.

If you have been granted an exemption, you can access your documents as follows:

• Employment Detail Summary: Contact your local tax office by phone or in writing and request your Employment Detail Summary. A printout will be posted to your home address.
• Preliminary End of Year Statement: Your Preliminary End of Year Statement will not be available to you as a printout. You can contact your local tax office who can advise you of your position (for example, a tax overpayment or underpayment) over the phone.

How do I qualify for an exemption from using Revenue’s online services?

You may qualify for an exemption if you do not have the capacity to make returns and payments online.

Revenue may grant you an exemption if:

• Your internet access is insufficient or
• You cannot file online because of age or a mental or physical disability

If you want to apply for an exemption, you write to your local tax office to state why you are unable to file online. You should write ‘Exclusion request’ on the envelope.

If Revenue refuses this request, you can appeal the decision. To do this, you must complete a Notice of Appeal form and send it to the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC).

South Munster Citizens Information

Further information on this and other topics is available from Cork City Centre CIC in Cornmarket Street, open to the public on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9.45am to 12.30pm and Wednesdays from 2pm to 4pm, Tel 0818 07 6950 (Lines open Mon-Fri 10am-4.30pm).  Blackpool CIC is also open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays  from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm, Tel 0818 07 6890 while Hollyhill CIC is open Mondays and Fridays from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm, Tel: 0818 07 6850.

Information is also available from the Citizens Information Phone Service Tel: 0818 07 4000 (9am – 8pm, Mon – Fri) or online at www.citizensinformation.ie