Rates last updated: 22 October 2026 · How we verify
Statement of Liability: What It Says, What It Misses and What To Do Next
A Statement of Liability is Revenue's final calculation of your income tax and USC for a tax year. It arrives after you submit a PAYE Income Tax Return in myAccount, and it says one of three things: balanced, overpaid or underpaid.
- The Statement of Liability compares what payroll deducted with what you actually owed for the year, after the credits and reliefs you claimed on the return.
- It only knows what your employer reported and what you told it, so a "balanced" statement often becomes a refund once rent, medical or remote working relief is added.
- An underpayment under €6,000 is collected by reducing your credits over up to four years, interest free.
Estimate your own year first with the Tax Refund calculator.
Below: the difference between the Preliminary End of Year Statement and the Statement of Liability, how to get each, what the three results mean with a worked example, why balanced is not the end of the story, and how underpayments are collected.
Two statements, one year
- The Preliminary End of Year Statement is Revenue's first look, built only from what your employer reported: pay, tax deducted, the credits on your certificate.
- The Statement of Liability is the final figure, issued after you complete the year's Income Tax Return and add anything Revenue did not know about.
- Revenue's end-of-year process runs preliminary statement first, return second, Statement of Liability last.
The preliminary statement is useful for one thing: it shows you the starting position. It is not a refund and it is not a bill. It does not include the Rent Tax Credit, medical expenses, remote working relief, flat rate expenses or anything else you have to claim yourself, because Revenue has no record of them until you file.
The Statement of Liability is the document that matters. It is the one Revenue acts on: an overpayment is repaid to the bank account on your Revenue profile, an underpayment is collected as described below. It also doubles as proof of income for a mortgage application, a visa renewal or a landlord, which is why people who have never claimed anything sometimes request one anyway.
Revenue explains the document on its Statement of Liability page.
How to get it
- In myAccount, open PAYE Services, choose "Review your tax for the previous 4 years", pick the year and request the Preliminary End of Year Statement.
- Then complete the Income Tax Return for that year.
- The Statement of Liability appears under "My Documents" about five days after you submit.
- Sign in to myAccount (or MyGovID). If you have never registered, you need your PPSN, date of birth and contact details; instant access needs two items such as a driving licence number or payslip details, otherwise Revenue posts a password.
- PAYE Services → "Review your tax for the previous 4 years" and select the year. In 2026 the open years are 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
- Request the Preliminary End of Year Statement. Read it, but do not stop here.
- Complete the Income Tax Return. This is where you add the credits and reliefs the preliminary statement left out, confirm your employments and enter any other income.
- Submit and check your bank details under "My Profile". A refund goes to the account on record; with no account, Revenue posts a cheque.
One year at a time. Each tax year has its own return and its own Statement of Liability, so claiming 2025 does nothing for 2022. If you have never done this, start with the oldest open year: 2022 closes permanently on 31 December 2026. The full walk-through is in how to claim tax back in Ireland.
The three results, with the numbers
- Balanced means the tax deducted equals the tax due; overpaid means a refund is on its way; underpaid means you owe.
- The result depends entirely on what is in the return.
- The example below starts at an overpayment of €666.67 on payroll figures alone.
Say you started your first Irish job on 1 March 2026 on €42,000 a year, €3,500 a month, and your payroll ran on a Month 1 basis, so each month got one-twelfth of your credits and rate band rather than the share accumulated since January.
What payroll deducted over ten months:
| Per month | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Tax at 20% (inside the monthly band of €3,666.67) | €3,500 × 20% | €700.00 |
| Less one month's credits | €4,000 ÷ 12 | −€333.33 |
| PAYE per month | €366.67 | |
| Over ten months | €366.67 × 10 | €3,666.67 |
What the Statement of Liability calculates for the year:
| Calculation | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | €3,500 × 10 | €35,000.00 |
| Tax at 20% (all inside the €44,000 band) | €35,000 × 20% | €7,000.00 |
| Less full-year credits | €2,000 personal + €2,000 employee | −€4,000.00 |
| Tax due for the year | €3,000.00 | |
| Overpaid | €3,666.67 − €3,000.00 | €666.67 |
Payroll gave you ten months of credits; the year gives you twelve. That gap is the refund, and it exists before you claim a single relief. USC is reviewed on the same statement and behaves the same way on a part-year, which is covered in USC explained.
Now the other direction. If you had two jobs and both applied the full credits, or a benefit in kind was never put through payroll, the statement comes out underpaid. Revenue lists the usual causes: an employer not using the latest Revenue Payroll Notification, a credit removed after it had already been given, a change of pay frequency, more than 52 weeks of credits in a year, Illness Benefit or other Department of Social Protection payments not fully taxed, or a separation, divorce or bereavement not reported.
Why "balanced" is not an answer
- A balanced statement says payroll matched the credits on your certificate, and nothing about the credits that were never on it.
- Add the Rent Tax Credit and €600 of medical costs for 2024 to a balanced year and it becomes a €1,120 refund.
- That's provided you paid at least that much income tax.
This is where most first-time returns go wrong. Someone requests the preliminary statement, sees "balanced", assumes there is nothing to claim, and closes the tab. The preliminary statement is built from payroll data only; it cannot know you rent, saw a consultant, worked from home or wear a uniform.
| Credit or relief | Worth for one year | Where the detail is |
|---|---|---|
| Rent Tax Credit | €500 for 2022 and 2023, €1,000 from 2024 (double for a jointly assessed couple) | Rent Tax Credit guide |
| Medical expenses | 20% of unreimbursed GP, consultant, prescription and referred physio costs | Medical expenses relief |
| Remote working relief | 30% of electricity, heating and broadband for the days at home, at your tax rate | Remote working relief |
| Flat rate expenses | A fixed deduction by occupation, no receipts | Flat rate expenses |
Every one of these goes on the same return that produces the Statement of Liability. The order matters: claim first, then read the statement. A balanced result after you have added everything you were entitled to is a real answer; a balanced preliminary statement is just a starting line. The full list is in the top Irish tax deductions you could be missing.
If it says you underpaid
- Under €6,000, pay all or part through the "Payment/Repayments" card in myAccount, or have it collected by reducing your credits over up to four years, interest free.
- Over €6,000, Revenue issues a notice setting out the amount, and you can still pay through myAccount or arrange it through MyEnquiries.
- Revenue's own example: a €312 underpayment collected at €78 a year, about €6.50 a month.
Nobody is handed a bill to pay on the spot. The default for small amounts is the credit reduction, which shows up as slightly less take-home pay for the collection period rather than a transfer you have to make. If you would rather keep your full credits, paying in myAccount clears it.
Before you accept an underpayment, check whether it survives the reliefs you have not yet claimed. An underpayment of €400 on the preliminary figures and a €1,000 Rent Tax Credit you never added produce a €600 refund, not a bill. Revenue's guidance on the collection options is on its underpayment page.
If the underpayment comes from a second job taxed with no credits, or a bonus taxed in isolation on a Week 1 basis, the statement is usually right about the year as a whole and the fix is in how your credits are allocated going forward: see tax on a second job and how a bonus is taxed.
Changing a statement you already have
- A Statement of Liability is not final in the sense of closed: you can amend it.
- If you left something out, open the same year in "Review your tax for the previous 4 years" and submit an amended Income Tax Return.
- A new statement issues with the revised figure, as long as the year is still inside the four-year window.
The most common amendment is a relief forgotten the first time, followed by a Form Med 2 that arrived late from a dentist, and a second employer that was missing from the record. If an employment is missing altogether, check "Jobs and Pensions" in myAccount first: the return can only include employments Revenue knows about.
Keep the records behind every claim for six years. Nothing is uploaded with the return apart from remote working bills, but Revenue can ask afterwards, and the statement you hold is only as good as the receipts behind it.
What Revenue actually asks for
- Your PPSN, myAccount access, your IBAN on your Revenue profile and the year's Employment Detail Summary, which replaced the P60 and is in myAccount.
- For rent, the RT number and landlord details; for medical costs, itemised receipts and insurer statements, plus a Form Med 2 for non-routine dental work.
- For remote working, your bills and a day count.
- Employment Detail Summary. Built from what each employer reported to Revenue, so it exists even if the employer no longer does.
- Bank details. A closed or missing account is the most common reason an approved refund stalls, especially after leaving Ireland.
- Receipts and records, kept for six years. The Receipts Tracker in myAccount stores photos as you go.
- Details of other income for the year, if any: a Form 12 return covers up to €5,000 of other income; above that you are on a Form 11.
If several years, several employers or a spell on emergency tax are involved, our Tax Back service pulls the four open years from your Revenue record, adds every relief you qualified for and files the returns. 15% of what we find, excl. VAT; nothing if there is no refund.
Where to start
Open myAccount and request the Preliminary End of Year Statement for 2022, then complete the return for that year with every relief you can evidence. That is the year with a deadline. The other three can follow in the same sitting.
Related reading
Questions we get asked
How long does a Statement of Liability take?
It normally appears under "My Documents" in myAccount about five days after you submit the Income Tax Return. A refund follows once the return is processed, provided the bank details on your Revenue profile are current.
Is the Preliminary End of Year Statement the same as a refund?
No. It is Revenue's first calculation from payroll data only. It does not include any credit or relief you have to claim yourself, and no money moves until you complete the return and receive the Statement of Liability.
My statement says balanced. Does that mean I'm not owed anything?
It means the tax deducted matched the credits Revenue had on file. If you rented, paid medical bills, worked from home or qualify for flat rate expenses and never claimed them, the year is not finished. Add them to the return and a new statement issues.
How is an underpayment on a Statement of Liability collected?
Under €6,000 you can pay through myAccount or have it collected by reducing your tax credits over up to four years, interest free. Over €6,000 Revenue issues a notice and you can pay or arrange it through MyEnquiries.
Can I get a Statement of Liability for a year I never filed?
Yes, for any of the four open years. In 2026 that means 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Request the preliminary statement, complete the return and the statement issues. After 31 December 2026 the 2022 year can no longer be claimed.