A summary of the Budget 2015 changes to USC is given here
What most people will want to know is how the changes will actually affect their take home pay.
For most people with a gross income below €75k – it will mean less USC and more take home pay.
If your gross pay is between €17550 and €70,000 (majority of people) your annual USC will fall by €174 a year (€14.50 a month) .
Someone earning €12k a year would be paying €279 USC in 2014 – they will pay no USC in 2015
Higher earners will pay more USC under the new rules – with someone on a salary of €100k paying €125 more USC in 2015. But the Income Tax changes in Budget 2015 will mean they will pay less Income Tax – so in all cases their take home pay will be more overall.
True, but overall tax will increase for employees earning over 70k p.a. where they make individual contributions to pension schemes. The increase is 1% of the contribution amount because the USC applies and its not offset by the higher rate tax decrease. Private pensions hit again…and people are only talking about the future removal of the pension levy.