Jump to Content

Taxation

This section of the website contains general tax information that may be beneficial to the University staff and students from time to time. For example:

Information on Value Added Tax (VAT)
Tax Resident Campus Visitors and Non Tax Resident Campus Visitors
Information on Professional Services Withholding Tax (PSWT)
University of Galway's Tax Clearance Details - see Revenue's Website using University of Galway's Reference Number 0022578J and Access Number (TCAN) 517227
University of Galway's EORI number is IE0022578J
Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT) - see Revenue's Website
Important notice for budget‑holders: Before engaging any individual, managers and budget‑holders must determine whether the person is an employee or self‑employed. Revenue now requires the use of the five‑step decision‑making framework when determining employment status.

Employee or Self-Employed – Key Points

Before engaging any individual, managers must determine whether the person should be classified as an employee or self‑employed.
This ensures correct payment processes and compliance with Revenue requirements.

Revenue distinguishes between:

Contract of service → Employee
Contract for service → Self‑employed

Following the Karshan Supreme Court judgment, all organisations must now use Revenue’s five‑step decision‑making framework when determining employment status.

As a result, some individuals previously treated as self‑employed may now need to be reclassified as employees, requiring PAYE to be operated.

Revenue’s Five‑Step Framework

Full guidance: Determining the employment status of an individual

The following five questions will assist in determining whether a contract is one “of service” or “for service”:

Is the individual receiving a wage or other form of remuneration for work?
Has the individual agreed to provide their services personally (with little or no option to delegate the work)?
Does the business control what, how, when, or where the work is carried out?
- If the answer to any of the above questions is No, the individual is likely self‑employed (subject to Step 5).
- If Yes to all three, move to Steps 4 and 5.
What do the actual facts and circumstances indicate about the true nature of the relationship?
Do they suggest the individual is working on their own account or as an employee?
Is there legislation that would override any of the above answers?
Example: Section 112 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 states that office holders are always treated as employees for tax purposes.

Further guidance on applying the framework is available in: Tax and Duty Manual Part 05‑01‑30

Examples Of Employment-Type Roles

The following examples help identify when an individual’s engagement should be treated as employment within University of Galway. An individual is considered to be in an employment-type role when they:

Have University of Galway infrastructure, such as a university email address, phone extension, or office/desk.
Are paid to work with a Principal Investigator on a research project (e.g., collecting, collating, or presenting data).
Provide teaching, training, workshops, or tutorials to University of Galway students as part of academic programmes
(these individuals should use the PTTA forms).
Carry out administrative duties for a University unit.
Provide support services under the direction of a University employee.

Budget-holders are strongly advised to review the five-step framework and seek clarification before engaging any individual.

* The term “individual” also includes people trading under a business name. For example, if “P. Murphy” provides lecturing to an evening B.Comm class and invoices as “P. Murphy Financial Services,” this is not appropriate. The nature of the work requires processing through payroll with PAYE/PRSI deducted at source.