Methodology

Plainly.ie is built for PAYE employees in Ireland: people employed under the Pay As You Earn system paying Class A PRSI. It does not cover:

• Self-employed income (Class S PRSI, Form 11)
• Benefits in Kind (company cars, health insurance)
• Rental income or investment income
• Auto-enrolment (My Future Fund), treatment not yet confirmed by Revenue
• Married two-earner households (coming later)

The refund estimator checks seven relief categories against Revenue's rules for tax years 2022–2025. All estimates assume the user's stated marginal tax rate (20% or 40%) applies uniformly to all unclaimed relief. Actual refunds may differ if circumstances changed across years.

Flat Rate Expenses: 20% of the published Revenue allowance for the selected occupation. Allowance amounts are sourced from Revenue's flat rate expense schedule but have not been individually verified against the current published list (#35). Verify your exact allowance at Revenue.ie before filing.

Rent Tax Credit: credit amounts are fixed historical figures per person: €500 in 2022, €750 in 2023, €1,000 in 2024, €1,000 in 2025. Doubled for couples. The tenancy must be registered with the RTB. The 2022 and 2023 amounts reflect the retroactive increases applied under Budget 2024.

Remote Working Relief: 30% of estimated qualifying home costs at the marginal tax rate. Home costs are estimated at €4/day (broadband and utilities). This is a conservative estimate. Actual qualifying costs may be higher. Revenue accepts the actual cost when filing in myAccount.

Medical Expenses: 20% of unreimbursed qualifying costs: GP visits, consultant fees, hospital charges, physiotherapy, and prescribed medication. Routine optical expenses (glasses, contact lenses) do not qualify. Proof of expenditure is required.

Non-Routine Dental: 20% of qualifying treatments: crowns, root canals, orthodontics, implants, bridges, and veneers. Routine check-ups and fillings do not qualify. A Form Med 2 from your dentist is required.

Third-Level Tuition Fees: 20% on fees above the €3,000 per-course disregard per year, for approved colleges in Ireland and the EU. Repeat students may be subject to a separate disregard, not currently modelled.

Dependent Relative Credit: €305 flat credit per year for qualifying dependants. This figure is the last confirmed Revenue amount and requires verification for the 2026 tax year (#33).

Not yet covered: Pension AVCs, income protection insurance premiums, PRSI overpayment recovery. These will be added in a future release.

Spending allocations are based on the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2026, published by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. Shares represent the proportion of gross current expenditure by Vote group. Capital expenditure is included.

All figures are estimates only. They do not account for mid-year income changes, multiple employments, non-PAYE income, Revenue adjustments, or individual circumstances that may affect your actual tax position.

No data entered on Plainly.ie is stored, transmitted, or retained. All calculations run in your browser.

If you notice an error or have a question about a specific calculation, email hello@plainly.ie.