Glossary
Irish Software Compliance Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the Irish-specific terms that drive software choice. Revenue regimes, GDPR mechanics, SEPA, eTenders, EU AI Act, all linked to the vendors and categories they affect.
30 terms, last reviewed 2026.
Tax & Revenue
Revenue Commissioners regimes and tax-return mechanics that any Irish accounting or payroll software must handle correctly.
Corporation Tax (CT1)
aka CT1, Irish Corporation Tax return
The annual Corporation Tax return filed by Irish resident companies through ROS. Trading income is taxed at 12.5% (or 15% for large groups in scope of Pillar Two); passive income and certain non-trading profits are taxed at 25%.
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Income Tax Return (Form 11)
aka Form 11, Irish self-assessed return
The annual self-assessment income tax return for self-employed individuals, company directors with material interests, and taxpayers with non-PAYE income. Filed through ROS by 31 October (or mid-November via ROS Pay and File extension).
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PAYE Modernisation
aka PMOD, Real-Time Payroll Reporting
Ireland's real-time payroll reporting regime, introduced by Revenue on 1 January 2019. Every payroll run must submit data to Revenue on or before the date employees are paid.
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Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT)
aka RCT
A withholding tax that principal contractors deduct from payments to subcontractors in construction, forestry and meat-processing. Rates are set by Revenue at 0%, 20% or 35% based on the subcontractor's compliance record.
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Revenue eInvoicing
aka Irish eInvoicing, B2B eInvoicing
The mandatory structured electronic invoicing regime being rolled out by Revenue, aligning Ireland with the EU ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age) package. Invoices must be issued in a machine-readable format (UBL or CII) and transmitted via the Peppol network.
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Reverse Charge VAT (construction)
aka Construction VAT Reverse Charge, RCV
A VAT rule specific to Irish construction services: where both parties are RCT-registered, the subcontractor invoices net of VAT and the principal accounts for the VAT in their own VAT3 return.
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ROS (Revenue Online Service)
aka ROS, Revenue Online
Revenue's secure portal for businesses, agents and large filers. Used to file VAT3, Form 11, CT1, RCT notifications, PAYE submissions and to access Revenue Payroll Notifications (RPNs).
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VAT3 return
aka VAT3, Irish VAT return
The periodic VAT return filed with Revenue via ROS. Most Irish businesses file bi-monthly; small traders can apply for four-monthly or annual filing. An annual Return of Trading Details (RTD) accompanies the final period.
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Payroll
Statutory payroll concepts that drive PAYE Modernisation, sick leave, pensions and benefit-in-kind in Irish payroll software.
Auto-Enrolment (My Future Fund)
aka AE, My Future Fund, Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System
Ireland's workplace pension scheme, branded My Future Fund. Live since 1 January 2026, administered by NAERSA. Eligible employees aged 23 to 60 earning over EUR 20,000 are automatically enrolled, with contributions deducted at source by payroll software.
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Benefit-in-Kind
aka BIK
Tax charged on non-cash perks (company cars, vans, accommodation, low-interest loans) provided to Irish employees. BIK is added to gross pay and taxed via PAYE.
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Employment Detail Summary
aka EDS, P60 replacement
Annual statement employees download from Revenue MyAccount showing total pay, tax, USC and PRSI for the year. Replaced the P60 from 2019 onward under PAYE Modernisation.
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PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance)
aka PRSI
Ireland's social insurance contribution deducted at source by payroll. Most employees are on Class A1, with employee PRSI at 4.1% and employer PRSI at 8.9% (lower rate) or 11.15% (higher rate) from October 2024 rates.
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Statutory Sick Pay
aka SSP, Irish SSP, Sick Leave Act
Mandatory paid sick leave for Irish employees, introduced by the Sick Leave Act 2022. Phased in from 3 days in 2023, rising to 10 days from 2026 onward.
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Universal Social Charge
aka USC
Irish payroll tax on gross income deducted at source by employers via PAYE and reported in real time under PAYE Modernisation. Bands, rates and exemption thresholds are set in the annual Finance Act.
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Banking & Payments
SEPA, Open Banking and authentication standards that define how Irish accounting and banking software move money.
Irish bank feeds
aka bank feed, Open Banking feed
An automated daily connection between an Irish business bank account and accounting software, removing CSV uploads. Modern feeds run over PSD2 Open Banking APIs; older feeds use Yodlee or Plaid screen-scraping.
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Irish IBAN
aka IE IBAN
International Bank Account Number issued by Irish-based banks. 22 characters starting with IE, includes a 6-digit sort code and 8-digit account number. Required for SEPA payments.
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Open Banking (PSD2)
aka Open Banking Ireland, PSD2, Account Information Services
EU regulatory framework that lets authorised third parties access bank account data (AIS) and initiate payments (PIS) on the customer's behalf. The basis for live bank feeds and payment-initiation tools.
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SEPA Credit Transfer
aka SCT, SEPA bank transfer
Standard EUR-denominated bulk payment scheme used to pay suppliers, salaries and Revenue liabilities from Irish business bank accounts. Settlement within one business day across SEPA.
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SEPA Direct Debit
aka SDD, SEPA DD
The standardised Euro pull-payment scheme covering all SEPA countries. A creditor with a Creditor Identifier and a signed mandate can debit the debtor's account in any participating bank using a pain.008 XML file.
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Strong Customer Authentication
aka SCA, two-factor authentication for payments
PSD2 requirement that electronic payments use two of three authentication factors: knowledge (PIN), possession (phone or token) and inherence (biometric). Applies to Irish card and bank payments.
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Data & GDPR
GDPR machinery: where data lives, who supervises, and the contracts and assessments required to send data outside the EEA.
Data Processing Agreement
aka DPA, Article 28 contract, Data Processing Addendum
Mandatory contract under GDPR Article 28 between a data controller and a data processor. Sets out subject matter, duration, processing purposes, and required security measures.
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Data Protection Commission
aka DPC, Irish DPC
Ireland's national data protection authority. Lead supervisory authority for many large US tech companies headquartered in Dublin under the GDPR's one-stop-shop mechanism.
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Data Residency (EU vs US)
aka data localisation, EU data centres, data sovereignty
Where customer personal data is stored and processed. Storing inside the EU/EEA simplifies GDPR compliance; processing in the US triggers transfer-mechanism obligations under Schrems II.
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Data Transfer Impact Assessment
aka DTIA, Transfer Impact Assessment, TIA
Documented assessment of whether a non-EEA jurisdiction provides essentially equivalent protection for personal data, required after Schrems II for transfers under SCCs.
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Standard Contractual Clauses
aka SCCs, EU SCCs
Pre-approved contractual templates issued by the European Commission for transferring personal data outside the EEA. The default fallback when no adequacy decision applies.
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Industry Codes
Identifiers that classify and verify Irish businesses for grants, procurement and counterparty checks.
Companies Registration Office
aka CRO, CRO number
The Irish state authority that registers and maintains records of all companies, business names and limited partnerships. Issues the CRO number used as a primary legal identifier.
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NACE Code
aka NACE Rev. 2, industry classification code
EU statistical classification of economic activities. Each business has a primary 4-digit NACE code that identifies its sector. Used by CRO, CSO, Revenue and grant authorities.
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Procurement
Public procurement infrastructure relevant to software sold to Irish state buyers.
AI Compliance
EU AI Act risk classification and the obligations that fall on Irish deployers of AI systems.
AI Risk Categories
aka AI Act risk tiers, AI risk classification
Four-tier risk classification under the EU AI Act: unacceptable-risk (banned), high-risk (regulated), limited-risk (transparency), minimal-risk (unregulated). Determines a system's compliance burden.
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EU AI Act
aka AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689
EU regulation on artificial intelligence, in force from 1 August 2024. Bans some practices, regulates 'high-risk' AI systems, and imposes transparency obligations on general-purpose AI models.
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