Paid Friday, reported Monday
You pay Mary her mileage on Friday afternoon by bank transfer. You don't get to the spreadsheet until Monday morning, and the file goes up to ROS on Monday afternoon.
Enhanced Reporting Requirements (ERR) Ireland 2026
Since 1 January 2024, employers have had to report three categories of tax-free payment to Revenue on or before the date they are paid, through ROS: travel and subsistence, the small benefit exemption, and the remote working daily allowance. It comes from section 897C TCA 1997. There is no return to file at year end and no tax to pay — the obligation is the timing, and that is where businesses get caught. From 1 January 2027, Budget 2027 adds a second option: report by the 14th of the month after the payment (see the 2027 change).
This page covers what ERR is and why it exists. For the timing rules and a pre-pay-run checklist, see ERR reporting deadlines. For mileage specifically — what to report and in which category — see ERR and mileage reimbursements.
- Reportable categories: T&S, the small benefit exemption, the remote working daily allowance
- 3
- Reportable categories: T&S, the small benefit exemption, the remote working daily allowance
- Scope
- Report on or before the date you pay the employee
- Pay day
- Report on or before the date you pay the employee
- Deadline
- From 1 January 2027, the option to report by the 14th of the following month
- 14th
- From 1 January 2027, the option to report by the 14th of the following month
- 2027 option
- Fixed penalty per failure (s.987 TCA 1997), which Revenue can mitigate
- €4,000
- Fixed penalty per failure (s.987 TCA 1997), which Revenue can mitigate
- Penalty
1 · Enforcement
The grace period is over
Why 2026 is the year of no excuses.
When Enhanced Reporting Requirements (ERR) were introduced in January 2024, Revenue adopted a "service to support compliance" approach and did not seek penalties, first to 30 June 2024 and then, after an extension, to 31 December 2024.
Revenue uses ERR data for risk profiling. Missing, late or inconsistent ERR filings can flag your business for a compliance intervention, and the statutory penalties described in section 5 apply to ERR in the same way as to payroll reporting.
Bedding-in is overRevenue treated 2024 and 2025 as a bedding-in period. That period is over: Revenue has signalled increased enforcement from 2026.
WhenWhat happened
January 2024ERR IntroducedERR comes into operation (S.I. 635/2023). Revenue adopts a "service to support compliance" approach and does not seek penalties.
July 2024Support ExtendedRevenue extends the no-penalty approach to 31 December 2024 (eBrief 179/24).
2025Bedding InThe formal no-penalty period is over, but Revenue still treats ERR as bedding in.
2026Enforcement Stepped UpRevenue signals increased enforcement. ERR data is used to select employers for compliance interventions.
1 January 2027New Reporting OptionBudget 2027: employers can choose to report by the 14th of the following month instead of on or before payment.
2 · The timing rule
The on-or-before rule: why manual fails
The timing requirement that catches spreadsheet users.
The ERR rule
Report on or before the date you pay the employee
Not within 24 hours. Not the next business day. On or before.
From 1 January 2027: you can instead choose to report by the 14th of the following month (Budget 2027). What changes
The spreadsheet problem
- Payment to Mary
- Friday
- Spreadsheet updated
- Monday morning
- Report uploaded to ROS
- Monday afternoon
Days late3
Under the 2026 rule the report had to be in on or before Friday.01Employee submits the claim
Classified correctly as it is entered: vouched or unvouched, travel or subsistence.
02Manager reviews and approves
Every action is timestamped, so you can see what was approved and when.
03Export the ERR file
An ERR-ready report for ROS, accurate and complete when you are ready to file.
Timing and mileage, in detailNeed to know exactly when to file? See ERR reporting deadlines 2026 for timing rules, common mistakes, and a pre-pay-run checklist. Not sure if mileage reimbursements need ERR reporting? Yes — here's exactly what to report.
3 · Classification
The vouched vs unvouched trap
Revenue requires you to split travel expenses into specific sub-categories. The distinction between vouched (receipted) and unvouched (flat-rate) expenses is critical for tax treatment.
Vouched (receipted)Evidence
Train Tickets€45.00 Heuston to CorkOriginal receipt required
Bus Fares€12.50 Dublin BusReceipt or ticket stub
Toll Charges€3.10 M50 tollBank statement or toll tag record
Parking€8.00 NCPS parkingParking receipt
Taxi/Uber€25.00 Airport transferDigital or paper receipt
Flights€180.00 DUB-LHR returnBooking confirmation + receipt
Unvouched (flat rate)Evidence
Civil Service Mileage€0.5182/km (first 1,500km, Cat C)Journey log only
Domestic Subsistence (5-10hrs)€19.25 standard rateTime and location record
Domestic Subsistence (10+ hrs)€46.17 day rateTime, location, purpose
Overnight Allowance€205.53 per nightAccommodation not receipted separately
Country Money (Site Allowance)€36.34 a day or €181.68 a week (32 km+ from base)Site location and duration
A common spreadsheet mistakeIn a spreadsheet, vouched and unvouched items often end up in one column called "Expenses" or "Travel". Reporting civil service mileage (unvouched) as vouched travel puts the wrong figures in your ERR submission, and that mismatch is visible to Revenue. Expense.ie keeps the two apart as each claim is entered.
How Expense.ie handles ERR
See the ERR export in action
Every expense is classified as vouched or unvouched, timestamped, and ready for Revenue — no manual sorting.
Filed before payment
ROS-ready JSON
Zero misclassifications
expense.ie/reports/err-export
ERR Export — February 2026
Acme Solutions Ltd · Finance Act 2022, Section 897C
Export for ROS
Ready to file
Travel Vouched
€3.10
1 item · receipted
Travel Unvouched
€210.90
3 items · mileage rates
Subsist. Unvouched
€65.42
2 items · day rates
Total ERR
€279.42
6 line items
ERR Line Items
Auto-classified · No manual sorting neededDateEmployeeERR CategoryDescriptionAmountTiming
21 Feb
21 Feb · Aoife O'Brien
Travel Unvouched
Mileage — Dublin → Cork (264 km)
€136.80
Reported 21 Feb
21 Feb
21 Feb · Aoife O'Brien
Subsistence Unvouched
Day rate — 10+ hours domestic
€46.17
Reported 21 Feb
19 Feb
19 Feb · Cian Murphy
Travel Unvouched
Mileage — Galway → Limerick (98 km)
€50.78
Reported 19 Feb
19 Feb
19 Feb · Cian Murphy
Travel Vouched
Toll — M6 motorway
€3.10
Reported 19 Feb
19 Feb
19 Feb · Cian Murphy
Subsistence Unvouched
Day rate — 5–10 hours
€19.25
Reported 19 Feb
18 Feb
18 Feb · Siobhán Kelly
Travel Unvouched
Mileage — Office → Naas (45 km)
€23.32
Reported 18 Feb
All 6 items reported on or before payment date
0 late filings · 0 misclassificationsVouched vs Unvouched — classified automatically
4 · Site-based employees
The hidden danger: country money
Critical for construction, engineering and field service companies.
Also known as site allowance, this is a flat payment to site-based employees who work 32 km or more from their base. Revenue's approved rates are €36.34 a day for four days or less and €181.68 a week for more than four days, tax-free when the conditions are met. The full rules are in our country money guide.
Country money is reportable under ERR. If you pay it tax-free but don't report it, you become liable for:
- PAYE on every single payment
- Employer's PRSI on every payment
- Interest on the late tax at 0.0274% per day (s.991)
- A fixed €4,000 penalty per failure to report (s.987), plus tax-geared penalties on any tax underpaid (s.1077F)
Illustrative exposure
15 site workers, two years unreported
Fifteen employees on site, paid country money at the weekly rate for 48 weeks a year, and none of it reported under ERR for two years. Every payment can lose its tax-free treatment.
- Employees on site
- 15
- Weekly allowance
- €181.68
- Weeks per year × years
- 48 × 2
- Unreported payments
- €261,619.20
PAYE/PRSI at an estimated 40%€104,647.68
Plus s.987 and tax-geared penalties, and interest. An illustration, not a calculation of any employer's liability.The Expense.ie wayExpense.ie includes a dedicated Site Allowance setting that tags these payments for ROS, so they land in the right ERR category.
5 · Penalties
2026 penalties: what does ERR non-compliance cost?
The statutory penalties and tax exposure, with the legal basis for each.
ERR has no penalty scale of its own. Section 984(1A) TCA 1997, inserted by Finance Act 2022 alongside section 897C, applies the payroll penalty in section 987 to reportable benefits. Revenue's ERR guidance (Tax and Duty Manual Part 38-03-33, reviewed September 2026) does not set out any other amounts. In practice the biggest cost is usually the tax, not the fixed penalty: payments that lose their tax-free treatment become subject to PAYE, USC and PRSI.
ExposureAmountLegal basisWhen it applies
Fixed penalty: employer€4,000s.987(1) TCA 1997, applied to ERR by s.984(1A)Per failure to deliver ERR particulars as the regulations require. Revenue can mitigate it.
Fixed penalty: company secretary€3,000s.987(2) TCA 1997A separate penalty on the secretary where the employer is a company or other body of persons.
Loss of tax-free treatmentPAYE, USC + PRSIConditions for paying tax-freeRevenue can treat payments that were not reported on time as taxable.
Tax-geared penalty% of tax underpaids.1077F TCA 1997Where tax is underpaid through careless or deliberate behaviour. The rate depends on the behaviour, disclosure and cooperation.
Interest0.0274% per days.991 TCA 1997On PAYE paid late, from the due date.
For how penalties fit with the filing deadlines, see penalties for late or missing ERR filings.Expense.ie Team plan€29
- A month, for up to 5 users
- No setup fee
- ERR export included
Spreadsheet + one missed ERR report€4,000 + tax
- Fixed penalty (s.987): €4,000
- PAYE, USC and PRSI if treated as taxable: uncapped
- Interest on late tax: 0.0274% a day
The bottom line
Using a spreadsheet for ERR is like driving without insurance
You might be fine for a while. Don't wait for a Revenue intervention to find out your spreadsheet isn't compliant.
ERR-ready reports
Export accurate, compliant data when you need it.
Correct classification
Vouched vs unvouched handled as each claim is entered.
Site allowance setting
Country money tagged for ROS in the right category.
Keep reading
Related guides
Expense.ie
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