Human Health & Social Work Salary After Tax Ireland 2026: Median Take-Home Pay
On the CSO median of €40,932, a single worker in Human Health & Social Work takes home €2,854.18 per month (€34,250.18 per year) in 2026.
Hospitals, care, and health and social services. The figures below use the CSO median weekly earnings for this sector (€787.15/week, annualised), from the CSO EAADS 2024 release, the latest published year. Take-home is calculated at 2026 rates; your own pay will vary with role, experience and employer, so use the calculator for an exact figure.
Human Health & Social Work (€40,932): Full Tax Breakdown
| Median Gross Salary | €40,932 | – |
| Income Tax (PAYE) | −€4,186.36 | −€348.86/mo |
| USC | −€760.77 | −€63.40/mo |
| PRSI | −€1,734.49 | −€144.54/mo |
| Take-Home Pay | €34,250.18 | €2,854.18/mo |
Take-Home by Filing Status
| Filing Status | Monthly Net | Eff. Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Single | €2,854.18 | 16.32% |
| Married, One Income | €3,020.85 | 11.44% |
| Single Parent | €3,012.51 | 11.68% |
How this is taxed
On a gross salary of €40,932, a single PAYE worker in 2026:
- Pays income tax at 20% on €40,932 of income.
- Has €4,000 in tax credits subtracted, leaving €4,186.36 income tax (PAYE).
- Pays €760.77 USC across the 2026 bands, and €1,734.49 PRSI (Class A).
That leaves take-home of €34,250.18 a year, an effective tax rate of 16.32%.
Take-home by pay frequency
| Per year | €34,250.18 |
| Per month | €2,854.18 |
| Per fortnight | €1,317.32 |
| Per week | €658.66 |
| Per day | €131.73 |
| Per hour (39h week) | €16.89 |
Sources
Take-home figures are calculated at 2026 rates, verified against Revenue.ie and Citizens Information. Earnings context: CSO Earnings Analysis 2024 (data.cso.ie).
Pay and tax in Human Health & Social Work
Health and social work covers an exceptionally wide span of roles, from consultants to care assistants, and the median sits low relative to the professional end of it because the sector employs a great many people in lower-paid support roles. It is also the sector most shaped by shift work, and that is where the tax point lies. Premiums for nights, weekends and unsocial hours are ordinary taxable pay: there is no special rate and no exemption, so a shift premium is taxed exactly like basic salary. Because those premiums vary from period to period, cumulative PAYE means the deduction can swing between payslips even where annual pay is stable, which makes payslips in this sector unusually hard to check by eye. Separately, anyone in the sector holding a medical card is charged USC at reduced rates provided total income stays under the relevant limit, and that is worth confirming rather than assuming, because it is applied from the Revenue record rather than from the card itself.
What the sector median hides
Health and social work covers an exceptionally wide span of roles, from consultants to care assistants, and the median sits low relative to the professional end because the sector employs a great many people in lower-paid support roles. Very few individual jobs in it actually pay the sector median.
It is also one of the most part-time sectors in the economy, and the series counts every employment rather than full-time equivalents. Between the breadth of roles and the share of part-time work, a sector figure here should be treated as a starting point for a role-level question rather than an answer in itself.
Shift pay, and why payslips here are hard to check
Premiums for nights, weekends and unsocial hours are ordinary taxable pay. There is no special rate and no exemption, so a shift premium is taxed exactly like basic salary. What makes this sector distinctive is that those premiums vary from period to period.
Because PAYE is cumulative, a variable pattern means the deduction can swing between payslips even where annual pay is stable, which makes payslips here unusually hard to check by eye. Separately, anyone holding a medical card is charged USC at reduced rates provided total income stays under the relevant limit, and that is applied from the Revenue record rather than from the card itself, so it is worth confirming rather than assuming.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average salary in the Human Health & Social Work sector in Ireland?
The CSO median salary in the Human Health & Social Work sector was about €40,932 a year in 2024 (the latest data). At 2026 tax rates a single worker on that salary takes home €2,854.18 a month (€34,250.18 a year) after PAYE, USC and PRSI.
See the closest salary breakdown, browse other sectors, or calculate your own.
Source: CSO Earnings Analysis using Administrative Data Sources 2024 (CC-BY 4.0), median weekly earnings by NACE economic sector, annualised over 52 weeks and covering all employees. Take-home computed with the IrishPAYE engine at 2026 rates for a single worker with standard credits.