Guide

PRSI classes explained: Class A, S, J, M and what they cover

Updated 2026-08-15

The letter on your payslip decides both what is paid and what benefits your record buys. Most people are Class A; the exceptions matter.

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The classes at a glance

Class A: The default for employees in industrial, commercial and service employment, and public servants recruited from April 1995. Full benefit cover: State Pension (Contributory), Jobseeker's, Illness, Maternity and Paternity Benefit, Invalidity Pension, Treatment Benefit and more.
Class S: Self-employed people and proprietary directors (broadly, those controlling 50% or more of the company). Charged at the same headline rate as the Class A employee rate (4.2% to 30 September 2026, 4.35% from 1 October 2026), subject to a minimum annual contribution of €650 (gov.ie: PRSI Class S rates). Covers pension and some benefits, including Jobseeker's Benefit for the Self-Employed, but not Illness Benefit in the way Class A does.
Class J: Employees with reckonable pay under €38 a week, and employees over pensionable age who are getting the State Pension (Contributory) or are over 70. No employee PRSI; the employer pays 0.70%, rising to 0.85% from 1 October 2026, covering Occupational Injuries Benefit only (gov.ie: PRSI Class J rates).
Class M: People with no PRSI liability at all, for example employees under 16. Recorded for occupational injuries purposes where relevant.
Classes B, C, D and H: Legacy public service classes (civil servants, Gardai and officers recruited before April 1995, and the Defence Forces). Lower ('modified') rates, and correspondingly restricted benefit cover, notably around the State Pension (Contributory).

Why your class matters

PRSI class determines benefit entitlement years later: a proprietary director on Class S builds State Pension rights but not Jobseeker's Benefit; a pre-1995 public servant on Class D may need to examine mixed-insurance pension rules. Misclassification (a director paid as Class A when control makes them Class S, or vice versa) creates both refund claims and benefit gaps, and the Department's Scope section adjudicates disputed cases (Citizens Information: social insurance).

Subclasses on the payslip

Within Class A, payroll splits contributions into subclasses (A0, AX, AL and A1) by weekly earnings band; these decide whether the employee exemption, the tapered credit and the lower or higher employer rate apply in that week. Payroll software assigns them automatically; the Department's Class A table on gov.ie lists the current bands (gov.ie), and it is the document to check whenever rates or thresholds change. Class J splits the same way into two subclasses with one rate: the J0 PRSI class for weekly income up to €500 and J1 above it, both with no employee PRSI and an employer rate of 0.70% to 30 September 2026 and 0.85% from 1 October 2026 (gov.ie: PRSI Class J rates).

Source: gov.ie, PRSI Class J rates

Class descriptions summarised from gov.ie and Citizens Information as at this page's updated date. Classification questions with money attached belong with an accountant or the Department's Scope section, not a summary page.

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Questions, answered directly

What PRSI class are proprietary directors?

Usually Class S, where the director controls 50% or more of the company, paying the self-employed rate without full employee-style benefit cover. Minority directors may be Class A; disputed cases are decided by the Department's Scope section.

What PRSI class do employees over State Pension age pay?

Most move to Class J or M, with no employee PRSI due: Class J covers employees over pensionable age who are getting the State Pension (Contributory) and anyone over 70, with the employer paying 0.70% (0.85% from 1 October 2026). Check the current position on gov.ie for anyone working past 66.

Sources

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