Updated April 2026Enforcement increasing in 2026

ERR Reporting Deadlines 2026: What Irish Employers Need to Know

The single most misunderstood thing about Enhanced Reporting Requirements: ERR reports must be filed at or before the time of payment. Not monthly. Not quarterly. Every time you pay an employee travel expenses, subsistence, a small benefit, or a remote working allowance — Revenue expects the ERR report on or before that payment date.

The Core Rule: File at Payment Time

The rule that catches most employers

ERR reports must be submitted to Revenue on or before the date the payment is made to the employee. If you reimburse mileage on Friday, the ERR report must be filed by Friday. Not the following Monday. Not at month-end.

Not monthly

You can't batch all expense ERR filings to month-end

Not quarterly

There is no quarterly filing option for ERR

At payment time

On or before the date you pay the employee

In practice: If you process all expense reimbursements as part of your regular payroll, you file the ERR submission on or before that pay date. The important thing is that the ERR report is never later than the payment. If you pay expenses outside your normal payroll cycle (e.g., ad-hoc bank transfers), each of those payments needs its own timely ERR filing.

What Must Be Reported Under ERR

ERR covers three categories of non-payroll benefits. For each, you report the amount, the date, and the category.

1

Travel & Subsistence Payments

Every mileage reimbursement, subsistence allowance, and travel expense payment made to employees.

What to report: The amount paid and the payment date, categorised by type (mileage, subsistence, travel).

Note: You report the payment amount — not the distance, route, or rate used. Revenue wants to know how much you paid and when.

2

Small Benefit Exemption

Non-cash benefits given to employees (e.g., vouchers, gift cards) up to €1,000 per year.

What to report: The date the benefit was provided and its value.

Note: Must be non-cash. Up to 5 benefits per year, total not exceeding €1,000.

3

Remote Working Daily Allowance

The €3.20 per day allowance for employees working from home.

What to report: The number of remote working days, the amount paid, and the payment date.

Note: This is the one most employers forget. If you pay the remote working allowance, it must be included in your ERR filing.

How to File ERR Reports

ERR reports are submitted through ROS (Revenue Online Service). There are two approaches:

Manual via ROS

Log in to ROS, navigate to the ERR section, and enter each payment manually. Suitable for businesses with infrequent expense payments.

Best for: 1–5 payments per month

Payroll / Expense Software

Most Irish payroll software can generate and submit ERR filings automatically. Expense management tools like Expense.ie generate ERR-ready export files.

Best for: regular expense payments

Penalties for Late or Missing ERR Filings

Revenue took a soft approach to ERR enforcement during 2024 and 2025, treating it as a bedding-in period. That period is over. Revenue has signalled increased enforcement from 2026.

Tax-free treatment disallowed

Revenue can retrospectively treat unreported payments as taxable. A €500 mileage reimbursement that wasn't reported under ERR could become subject to PAYE (40%), USC (8%), and employer PRSI (11.05%) — turning a €500 cost into a €795+ liability.

Fixed penalties per return

Under existing legislation, Revenue can apply penalties for incorrect or late tax returns. These are per-return penalties, meaning each missed ERR filing date is a separate infraction.

Increased audit risk

Revenue uses ERR data for real-time risk profiling. Missing or inconsistent ERR filings flag your business for closer examination. Revenue has explicitly stated it uses ERR data to identify employers for compliance interventions.

The real risk: It's not the penalty itself — it's the loss of tax-free treatment. If Revenue disallows the tax exemption on your T&S payments because ERR wasn't filed correctly, you owe employer PRSI on every payment, plus the employee owes PAYE and USC. For a company paying €30,000/year in mileage across a team, the retrospective tax bill could exceed €17,000.

5 Common ERR Mistakes

1
Filing monthly instead of per payment

The most common mistake. If you pay expenses on the 10th and 25th, you need ERR filings by the 10th and 25th — not a single filing at month-end.

2
Forgetting the remote working allowance

Many employers pay the €3.20/day remote working allowance but don't include it in their ERR filing. It's a separate reportable category and must be included.

3
Not categorising T&S payments correctly

Reporting all travel payments as a single lump sum instead of categorising them (mileage, subsistence, travel fares, etc.). Revenue expects categorisation.

4
Reporting the wrong date

Using the expense date (when the trip happened) instead of the payment date (when the employee was reimbursed). Revenue wants the payment date.

5
Not filing at all for small payments

There is no minimum threshold. A €15 subsistence payment requires the same ERR reporting as a €500 mileage reimbursement.

Pre-Pay-Run ERR Checklist

Run through these 5 checks before every pay run that includes expense reimbursements.

1
All expense claims approved and finalised

Ensure every claim included in this pay run has been reviewed and approved. Don't include pending or disputed claims.

2
Payments categorised correctly

Each payment should be tagged as mileage, subsistence, travel fares, small benefit, or remote working allowance — not lumped together.

3
Payment dates match ERR filing date

The ERR report date must be on or before the actual payment date. If the bank transfer goes out Friday, file by Friday.

4
Remote working days included

If you're paying the €3.20/day remote working allowance in this pay run, include the number of days and total amount in the ERR filing.

5
ERR export generated and submitted to ROS

Generate the ERR file from your expense or payroll software, upload to ROS, and confirm submission before processing payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Resources

Expense.ie Generates ERR-Ready Exports Automatically

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