Ireland's national minimum wage rose to €14.15 an hour on 1 January 2026, up 65 cent from €13.50. But the headline hourly rate isn't what lands in your account — PAYE, USC and PRSI come off first. So what does a full-time minimum-wage job actually pay in 2026? Here are the real weekly, monthly and yearly take-home figures.
All numbers are from the IrishPAYE take-home pay calculator for a single worker on Budget 2026 rates. We show the three most common full-time weeks — 35, 37.5 and 39 hours — because "full-time" isn't a fixed number.
Minimum wage take-home pay in 2026
| Hours / week | Gross / year | Net / year | Net / month | Net / week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 hrs | €25,753 | €23,176 | €1,931 | €446 |
| 37.5 hrs | €27,592 | €24,533 | €2,044 | €472 |
| 39 hrs | €28,696 | €25,347 | €2,112 | €487 |
Why minimum-wage workers keep most of their pay
A full-time minimum-wage salary is taxed lightly because of how Ireland's system is built:
- Income tax is almost wiped out. The €2,000 Personal Credit and €2,000 Employee Credit cover the first €20,000 of income for a single person, so only a small amount of income tax is due.
- USC stays in the low bands. The first €12,012 is charged at just 0.5% and the next slice at 2%.
- PRSI is modest at 4.2% (rising to 4.35% from October 2026), with a credit that softens it for lower earners.
The USC change that protects minimum-wage workers
Here's a detail most people miss. Budget 2026 raised the ceiling of the 2% USC band from €27,382 to €28,700 — and a 39-hour week at €14.15 comes to €28,696, just €4 under the line. That's no accident: the band was widened specifically so a full-time minimum-wage worker doesn't tip into the 3% USC rate as the hourly rate rises. See the full Budget 2026 rates for the detail.
Part-time hours
Working fewer hours changes the picture proportionally. At 35 hours a week the annual gross is about €25,753, with take-home near €23,176 (about €1,931 a month). Because earnings are lower, an even larger share is shielded by credits and the low USC bands — so part-time minimum-wage workers keep an even higher percentage of their pay. Model any number of hours in the calculator by entering your annual gross.
How it compares
To see where minimum wage sits against other pay levels, browse take-home pay for every salary or by job, or read how much tax you pay at every salary for the full deduction breakdown as earnings rise.
Frequently asked questions
How much is minimum wage per year in Ireland?
On a 39-hour week at €14.15 an hour, minimum wage is about €28,696 gross a year in 2026, or roughly €25,347 take-home after tax.
Is minimum wage enough to pay tax in Ireland?
A full-time minimum-wage worker pays a small amount of income tax, USC and PRSI, but tax credits remove most of the income tax — so the effective rate is only around 12%.