Form P50: Claim a Tax Refund When Unemployed (Ireland)

What is Form P50 (tax refund while unemployed)?

Form P50 is the Irish Revenue Commissioners' paper claim for a repayment of Income Tax and/or Universal Social Charge (USC) during unemployment. If tax and USC were deducted from your pay since 1 January and you are now out of work, you may have paid more than you owe for the year, and the P50 asks Revenue to work out a refund. How much comes back depends, as the form explains, on how long you have been unemployed, how much Income Tax and USC you paid, and whether you owe any arrears.

Revenue's main route for this claim is online: in myAccount you choose 'Claim unemployment repayment' on the PAYE Services card, or use the PAYE Current Year option in ROS. Revenue's guidance says the paper P50 is for people who are not e-enabled. If that's you, or you simply prefer paper, the P50 asks for your details, any income you've had since becoming unemployed, your plans, and optionally the bank account the refund should be paid into.

FileIt guides you through every part of the P50, fills your answers into Revenue's official PDF, puts your PPSN, IBAN and dates neatly into their boxes, and checks your IBAN before printing. Your name can be pre-filled from the People records in your FileIt vault, and the finished form is saved in your vault. FileIt does not send the form to Revenue: you print it, sign it by hand and post it to your Revenue office yourself.

Who fills it: A PAYE employee who has become unemployed and paid Income Tax or USC this year
Given to: Your Revenue office, by post
When: Immediately if Emergency Tax applied or you're leaving Ireland permanently; otherwise after four weeks unemployed, or eight weeks if you get other taxable income
Signatures: You sign and date the declaration by hand
Edition: RPC014638_EN_WB_L_1

Who needs to fill out Form P50 (tax refund while unemployed)?

Employees in Ireland who have lost or left their job and had Income Tax and/or USC deducted from their pay since 1 January.
People now receiving Jobseeker's Benefit, Illness Benefit or other Department of Social Protection (DSP) payments after their job ended.
People who were taxed on the Emergency basis in their last job.
People leaving Ireland permanently after their employment has ended.
Anyone who is not e-enabled for Revenue's myAccount or ROS and needs to make the claim on paper.

When to use Form P50 (tax refund while unemployed)

Immediately, if Emergency Tax was applied in your last employment.
Immediately, if you are leaving Ireland permanently.
Four weeks after becoming unemployed, if you are not receiving any other taxable income.
Eight weeks after becoming unemployed, if you are receiving other taxable income such as Jobseeker's Benefit.
Only for the first claim during a period of unemployment, as the form's title says.

What you need before you start

Your Personal Public Service Number (PPSN).
Your last employer's registered employer number, if you have it.
The date your employment ended.
Details of any DSP payments since then: the type, the date it started, the gross weekly amount and the number of children included.
Details of any other income not subject to PAYE, such as casual earnings: the gross amount so far and its source, plus supporting documents for any tax or USC deducted.
Your plans: whether you'll return to work in Ireland before 31 December, whether you're going abroad (country, departure date, how long) and whether you'll work abroad.
Your IBAN and BIC if you want the refund paid into a SEPA bank account.
A telephone number or email address.

What’s on Form P50 (tax refund while unemployed)

The 2026 edition has 2 pages. FileIt asks for it in 5 parts:

Your detailsClaimant
Details of income received by you since the date you became unemployedClaimant
Your plansClaimant
Refunds: your bank account (SEPA)Claimant
DeclarationClaimant

How to fill out Form P50 (tax refund while unemployed), step by step

1 Name and address, PPSN and employer number

Give your name and full postal address including your Eircode, your PPSN, your last employer's registered number and the date your employment ended. FileIt prints the PPSN and employer number one character per box, and the date as DDMMYY.

2 Details of income received since you became unemployed

Put an X in every box that applies. For Jobseeker's Benefit, Illness Benefit or other income from the Department of Social Protection, give the date the income started and, for other DSP income, the payment type. Add the number of children included in your claim and the gross weekly amount.

Tick Jobseeker's Assistance if you receive it; the form notes it is not a taxable source of income. If you have other income not subject to PAYE, give the gross amount received so far and where it comes from. Revenue leaves out any DSP amounts that aren't taxable when it calculates your refund, and DSP payments are not chargeable to USC.

3 Do you intend to resume employment in Ireland before 31 December next?

Answer Yes or No. If No, give the reason, and if you're going back to education, the name of the school or college.

4 Are you making this claim on the basis that you are going abroad?

If Yes, give the country you're going to, your intended departure date and how long you'll stay. Then say whether you intend to take up employment abroad, and give an address abroad for correspondence if Revenue should write to you there.

5 Refunds and SEPA bank details

Revenue notes that it is quicker to receive a refund electronically than by cheque. To be paid into your bank account, give your IBAN (up to 34 characters) and BIC (up to 11), which are usually on your bank statements. Revenue can't pay into a foreign account outside the Single Euro Payments Area, and any later Revenue refunds will go to the same account unless you tell them otherwise. FileIt checks the IBAN's check digits before printing.

6 Declaration

By signing you declare that you are unemployed and that everything on the form is correct. Add the date and a telephone number or email address. The form warns that knowingly making a false statement to obtain a repayment of income tax carries heavy penalties. Sign by hand in the Signature box.

Common mistakes to avoid

Claiming too early. Unless Emergency Tax applied or you're leaving Ireland permanently, wait four weeks, or eight weeks if you get other taxable income.
Leaving questions blank. The form says all sections and the declaration must be completed, and an incomplete form may be returned to you, which delays the claim.
Forgetting to list Jobseeker's Benefit or Illness Benefit. Revenue takes the taxable amount of social welfare payments into account.
Not attaching documents for tax or USC deducted from casual earnings or other income you list.
Giving a bank account outside SEPA. Revenue can't pay refunds into it.
Mistyping the IBAN. FileIt checks it, but compare it with your bank statement too.
Using the paper form when you can use myAccount. Revenue's online claim is its main route.

After you fill it out

Print the P50 from FileIt, sign and date the declaration by hand, and send it to your Revenue office. Where it applies, include supporting documents for Income Tax and/or USC deducted from casual earnings or other income you listed.

Revenue will send you details of the refund, if any. It works out the amount from how long you've been unemployed, the tax and USC you've paid, and any arrears, leaving out DSP amounts that aren't taxable. If you gave bank details, the refund goes to that account, and so will later Revenue refunds unless you tell them otherwise.

A copy of the filled form stays in your FileIt vault. If you're e-enabled later, you can follow up or make future claims through myAccount.

Fill out Form P50 (tax refund while unemployed) online with FileIt

Pick the person. Choose someone from People and FileIt fills in their name, date of birth, address and other details it already knows.
Answer plain-language questions. One part of the form at a time, with the official help text beside each question — 29 fields in all. Your answers save as you go.
Check the live preview. Watch your answers land on the real Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Revenue) form, and let FileIt do any worksheet arithmetic.
Generate the official PDF. FileIt prints your answers into the agency’s own PDF and files it in that person’s folder in your vault.

FileIt fills the form — it never files or submits anything for you. Deliver the finished form to whoever asked for it, the way the form’s instructions say.

Start Form P50 (tax refund while unemployed) now — it’s free

Form P50 (tax refund while unemployed): frequently asked questions

What is Form P50?

It is Revenue's paper form for a first claim to repay Income Tax and/or USC during unemployment. If tax and USC were deducted from your pay since 1 January and you're now unemployed, you may be entitled to a refund.

When can I claim a tax refund after losing my job?

According to Revenue: immediately if Emergency Tax was applied in your last job or you're leaving Ireland permanently; four weeks after becoming unemployed if you have no other taxable income; and eight weeks after if you receive other taxable income such as Jobseeker's Benefit.

Should I use myAccount instead of the P50?

Revenue's main route is myAccount, where you choose 'Claim unemployment repayment' on the PAYE Services card. Revenue says the paper P50 is for people who are not e-enabled.

Where do I send Form P50?

To your Revenue office, as the form's information notes say. FileIt doesn't submit it for you; you print, sign and post it.

Can I fill out Form P50 online?

Yes. FileIt guides you through the P50 and prints your answers into Revenue's official PDF, free on every FileIt account. You then sign it by hand and send it yourself.

Is Jobseeker's Benefit taxable?

The form treats Jobseeker's Benefit and Illness Benefit as income to report, while noting that Jobseeker's Assistance is not a taxable source of income. Revenue excludes DSP amounts that aren't taxable when it works out your refund, and DSP payments aren't chargeable to USC.

How much will I get back?

It depends on how long you've been unemployed, how much Income Tax and USC you paid, and whether you have arrears. Revenue sends you details of any refund.

Can the refund be paid into a foreign bank account?

Only into an account in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Revenue can't pay into a foreign account outside SEPA.

Official sources

Blank form (PDF), published by Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Revenue): https://www.revenue.ie/en/jobs-and-pensions/documents/form-p50.pdf
Official instructions and guidance: https://www.revenue.ie/en/jobs-and-pensions/periods-of-unemployment/how-to-claim-a-tax-and-usc-refund-if-you-are-unemployed.aspx
Edition shown on this page: RPC014638_EN_WB_L_1 (checked 2026-09-26).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Revenue) or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-09-26.