Enhanced Reporting Requirements (ERR): A Plain-English Guide for Irish Employers
Since the compliance grace period ended, Enhanced Reporting Requirements (ERR) are now fully enforced by Revenue — and getting it wrong can mean penalties, not just a warning letter. Here's what employers actually need to report, and how to stay on the right side of it.
What is ERR?
ERR comes from Section 897C of the Finance Act 2022. It requires employers to report certain non-taxable payments and benefits given to employees and directors to Revenue, in real time, via the Revenue Online Service (ROS).
The goal is transparency: Revenue wants visibility of tax-free payments as they happen, not months later at year-end.
What exactly has to be reported?
Only three categories are currently in scope:
- Remote Working Daily Allowance — up to €3.20 a day, tax-free, to cover costs like heating and electricity for remote workers.
- Travel and Subsistence — tax-free reimbursements to an employee for business travel and subsistence costs.
- Small Benefit Exemption — non-cash benefits like vouchers or gift cards, up to 5 payments a year, capped at €1,500 total.
Anything already taxed through payroll (like most Benefits-in-Kind) does not need separate ERR reporting.
What's out of scope?
- Expenses paid directly by the employer to a third party (a hotel or airline, for example) rather than reimbursed to the employee
- Payments made via company credit card where the employee isn't reimbursed personally
- Ordinary taxable payroll items already reported through PAYE
When do reports need to be submitted?
On or before the date the payment or benefit is given to the employee. There's no batching it up for month-end — if you're reimbursing travel expenses weekly, you're reporting weekly.
How is ERR data submitted?
Employers can:
- Enter details manually through ROS
- Upload a structured JSON or XML file
- Use a payroll or expense platform that files directly to ROS on your behalf
Manually converting spreadsheets into Revenue's required JSON/XML format is one of the biggest pain points employers report — it's technical, and mistakes (like unencrypted PPSNs) carry GDPR risk on top of the compliance risk.
What happens if you get it wrong or miss a deadline?
Since the "service to support compliance" grace period ended, Revenue can intervene on late, missing, or incorrect ERR submissions, and financial penalties can apply. Beyond the fine itself, non-compliance risks flagging your business for closer scrutiny in future payroll interventions.
A simple ERR readiness checklist
- Confirm which of the three ERR categories your business actually pays out (many businesses only need to worry about one or two)
- Assign clear ownership — HR, payroll, or finance — for who submits ERR reports
- Check whether your payroll/expense software files directly to ROS, or whether you're manually converting files
- Confirm you're capturing employee PPSN or Employment ID correctly for each report
- Set an internal cutoff ahead of each payment date, so reports go in on time rather than at the last minute
How CloudHR helps
CloudHR keeps expense and benefit data structured from the point of entry, so ERR-reportable items (remote working allowance, travel & subsistence, small benefit vouchers) are flagged and ready to submit — rather than requiring a manual spreadsheet-to-JSON conversion every pay cycle.
FAQ
Does ERR replace payroll reporting to Revenue? No — ERR and payroll reporting are separate interfaces with Revenue. You can't combine an ERR submission with your regular payroll submission.
Is there a minimum value that triggers ERR reporting? No — there's no minimum threshold. All specified non-taxable benefits must be reported regardless of value.
Do I need to report travel paid directly to a hotel? No — ERR only applies where the employer reimburses the employee directly, not where the employer pays a third party directly.
What's the small benefit exemption limit? Up to 5 tax-free benefits a year, with a combined value cap of €1,500. Once the cap is reached, further "benefits" in that year become taxable.
Can a payroll provider handle ERR reporting for me? Yes — many Irish payroll and expense platforms now file ERR submissions directly to ROS as part of their service.
This article is for general guidance only. Reporting categories, thresholds and deadlines are set by Revenue and can change — always check Revenue.ie or the ERR FAQ document for the current rules before submitting.
