What is shadow payroll?
Shadow payroll is commonly used where remuneration continues to be delivered through a foreign payroll but Irish payroll withholding also needs to be calculated and reported. TaxComply Ireland calculates the Irish tax figures; it does not create a payslip or submit payroll data to Revenue.
STBV thresholds are not one simple 183-day rule
Workdays and days of presence are separate concepts. The exact DTA must also be considered; the platform therefore treats unresolved treaty facts as a review point rather than assuming an exemption.
Irish workday sourcing
For regular remuneration, TaxComply Ireland shows the apportionment as actual Irish workdays divided by actual total workdays for the relevant period. It does not present the workday fraction as a percentage. Public holidays, leave and other non-working days should be reviewed based on what actually happened.
Bonuses can have a different earning period
A bonus paid in 2026 can relate to duties performed in an earlier period. If it relates wholly to 2025 duties and the employee had no Irish workdays during that bonus earning period, the Irish-attributable amount can be nil. Conversely, a bonus paid after an employee leaves Ireland can still have an Irish element if it relates to Irish duties performed earlier.
PRSI and A1 / certificate of coverage
Irish PRSI should not be assumed simply because an employee performs duties in Ireland. An applicable A1 or other certificate of coverage can confirm that the employee remains insured in another country and is exempt from Irish PRSI for the covered period. The calculator therefore asks for the social-security position before applying an Irish PRSI class.
Tax equalisation is different
A standard shadow payroll starts with actual remuneration and calculates the Irish payroll taxes. A tax-equalised assignment can also require hypothetical tax, employer-funded host tax, gross-up and policy-specific reconciliation. Tax equalisation is therefore treated as a separate specialist-review service rather than part of the standard shadow-payroll fee.
Foreign exchange methodology
TaxComply Ireland's standard convention is to use the immediately preceding month's ECB monthly average—for example, the August ECB monthly average for a September shadow payroll—and to show the reference month in the calculation. This is a platform methodology, not a claim that Revenue mandates that exact monthly-average convention.