Universal Social Charge (USC)
Payments and income exempt from USC
Payments exempt from USC
You will not pay USC on payments you recieve:
- from the Department of Social Protection (DSP)
- Payments that are similar to DSP payments, but paid by another body such as:
- Blind Welfare Supplementary Allowance
- Community Employment Scheme
- Farm Retirement Pensions
- Fund for Students with Disabilities
- JobBridge
- Job Initiative Scheme
- Mobility Allowance
- social welfare payments received from another country
- Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS)
- Youthreach Training Allowance.
Income exempt from USC
Your income will be exempt from USC if it is less than the exemption limit. The exemption limit for 2024 is €13,000.
Historical exemption limits
| Year | Exemption limit |
|---|
| 2023 |
€13,000 |
| 2022 |
€13,000 |
| 2021 |
€13,000 |
| 2020 |
€13,000 |
| 2019 |
€13,000 |
Other income that is exempt from USC includes:
You can find a full list of USC exemptions in Section 12 of the USC manual.
Next: Standard rates and thresholds of USC