Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) Tax Relief Guide

Introduced in the Finance Act 2012, SARP was developed to promote the relocation of valuable and key talent within organizations to work in Ireland. Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) offers tax relief for up to five consecutive tax years from the individual’s first year of claim.

There are a number of qualifying conditions. Individuals claiming the SARP relief must:

• Earn a minimum basic salary of €125,000 per annum
• Be tax resident in Ireland for the entire tax year that the relief is claimed
• Not have been tax resident in Ireland in the five tax years immediately preceding the year of their arrival in Ireland
• Have arrived in Ireland at the request of their employer to perform duties of their employment for that employer or an associated company of their employer
• Worked outside Ireland for a minimum period of six months for a company located in a country with which the State has a double taxation agreement. There must be no gap in the individual’s employment before being assigned to work in Ireland

Check out the video below to understand SARP in a few minutes. 

Calculating SARP Relief

Tax regulations for inbound assignees depend on your arrival date in Ireland:

Arrivals from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025: Relief applies to 30% of income exceeding €100,000, subject to a maximum income cap of €1,000,000.

Arrivals from 1 January 2026 onwards: Relief applies to 30% of income exceeding €125,000, subject to a maximum income cap of €1,000,000.

Note: These thresholds determine the qualifying baseline for income tax relief under current Irish fiscal policy.

Reporting Requirements

Employer

Employers must submit a Form SARP 1/1A to Revenue for each employee claiming SARP relief within 90 days of the employee’s arrival in Ireland. Employers are also required to file a SARP annual return on or before the 23^rd of February following the end of each tax year.

Employee

Each employee claiming SARP relief must file annual income tax returns with Revenue. It is advisable to use Revenue Online Service (ROS) for this process.

If you are returning to Ireland and want to learn more about tax residency,  check our blog on Returning to Ireland and Irish Tax Residency.

How do you apply for SARP relief?

If you need help applying for the SARF Relief Programme you can contact us for assistance using the form below: