Ireland proposes a monthly option for employee-benefit reporting

An optional reporting cycle

The announced mechanism changes the frequency of reporting rather than introducing a new category of employee-benefit exemption. The minister linked it to recommendations from the cost-of-business advisory forum and said employers would have a choice between retaining real-time reports and making monthly returns. The announcement does not establish the precise monthly submission deadline or prove that the necessary legislation has subsequently been enacted.^[1]

The existing reporting framework

The statutory framework originated in section 9 of the Finance Act 2022, which inserted section 897C into the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. It addressed electronic reporting of three categories: small benefits, remote-working daily allowances and untaxed travel or subsistence payments. Section 9 also inserted section 986(1B), requiring regulations to prescribe the period, form and particulars for reporting. These original provisions identify the legal framework; they are not the proposed new monthly deadline.^[2]

Revenue’s public guidance, published on 22 January 2026, says ERR reporting began on 1 January 2024 and instructs employers to submit the relevant details through Revenue Online Service on or before payment to the employee. That published administrative baseline is distinct from the Budget proposal. Employers should not treat the announcement alone as a replacement filing instruction.^[3][1]

For the reported benefits, Revenue distinguishes the data required. Its guidance requests the payment date and value for the small-benefit exemption; days, amount and payment date for the remote-working allowance; and dates and amounts for the listed travel-and-subsistence categories. A monthly reporting cycle would still concern the underlying payment information, rather than make an otherwise taxable reimbursement tax-free.^[4][1]

Group payroll and expense systems

For multinational groups with Irish employers, the practical issue is therefore the hand-off of expense and benefit data. Revenue already supports file upload and manual online entry and asks employers to engage with their software providers. Groups can assess whether a monthly workflow would reduce reporting activity, while retaining the payment-level records needed for either route. That is an operational implication of the proposed choice, not a claim that a new monthly service or deadline is already available.^[5][4][1]