What registering actually does
Registering as self-employed is not a licence and it is not a permission. It is a notification to Revenue that you have income that does not come through PAYE, which moves you into the self-assessment system.
Everything that follows — the return you file, the PRSI class you pay, the credits you can claim, the deadlines you are held to — comes from that change of status.
Which form you need
| Your situation | How to register |
|---|---|
| Starting a trade or profession as an individual | Form TR1, or eRegistration on ROS |
| Already have a ROS account | eRegistration on ROS — no paper form needed |
| Non-resident individual starting an Irish trade | Form TR1 (FT) |
| Forming a company instead | Form TR2 — the company registers separately from you |
You will need your PPS number, the date of commencement, a description of the trade, and your business address. The same registration can cover VAT and employer PAYE where you need them, so register for everything you know you will need at once rather than in three separate exercises.
Are you actually self-employed?
This matters more than people expect. Being paid gross and issuing invoices does not by itself make you self-employed, and Revenue and the Department of Social Protection both apply a substance test rather than taking the label at face value.
The Supreme Court's 2023 decision in the Karshan case reframed how employment status is determined in Ireland, and Revenue has since published guidance built around a five-question framework. The direction of travel is that more arrangements are being found to be employment than previously.
- Do you control how, when and where the work is done, or does the person paying you?
- Can you send a substitute in your place?
- Do you provide your own equipment and bear your own costs?
- Do you carry genuine financial risk — can you make a loss on a job?
- Do you work for more than one client, and can you take on others?
If you have one client, work their hours, use their equipment and cannot send anyone else, the arrangement may be employment regardless of what the contract calls it. Getting that wrong is a liability for the business paying you, and it is increasingly being found.
What changes about your PRSI
Self-employed people pay PRSI at Class S. This is a narrower class than the Class A paid by employees, and the difference in entitlements is worth understanding before you rely on it.
Class S contributions build entitlement to the State Pension (Contributory), Maternity and Paternity Benefit, Adoptive and Parent's Benefit, Treatment Benefit, Invalidity Pension and Jobseeker's Benefit (Self-Employed). They do not give the same cover as Class A across the board, and PRSI contribution rates were scheduled to rise again from 1 October 2026.
The credits you gain
The Earned Income Tax Credit is the self-employed counterpart to the Employee Tax Credit. For 2026 it is worth €2,000, matching the Employee Tax Credit, and it sits alongside the personal tax credit of €2,000 for a single person or €4,000 for a married couple or civil partners.
If you have both PAYE employment and self-employment in the same year, the combined Employee and Earned Income credits are capped, so you do not receive both in full.
Your annual cycle from here
- Keep records of all income and business expenses as you go. Revenue requires them to be retained for six years.
- File a Form 11 for each tax year by 31 October following that year, or by the ROS extended date in November.
- Pay the balance of income tax, USC and PRSI for the year just ended.
- Pay preliminary tax for the current year on the same date.
- Register for VAT separately if turnover passes €42,500 for services or €85,000 for goods.
For the 2025 tax year the pay and file deadline is 31 October 2026, extended to 18 November 2026 where you both file and pay through ROS.
Keeping a PAYE job alongside it
There is nothing preventing you from being employed and self-employed at the same time, and many people start that way deliberately. Your employment continues under PAYE and Class A PRSI; the self-employed income goes on a Form 11 alongside it.
One practical point: if your non-PAYE income is small, you may be able to file a Form 12 rather than a Form 11 and have the tax collected by reducing your tax credits. Once the self-employment is substantial, you are in the full self-assessment system, and the preliminary tax obligation comes with it.