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The short answer
Have the salary paid in sterling to GBP account details and convert to euro on your own terms, rather than letting a bank convert each payslip. On tax, an Irish resident is chargeable on worldwide income, but Transborder Workers' Relief can largely remove Irish tax on the Northern Ireland salary if you meet its conditions, including UK tax being paid on it and being in Ireland at least one day each working week.
Border life is normal for many Nigerians in Dundalk, Letterkenny, Monaghan or Dublin who work for employers in Belfast or Newry. The salary comes in pounds, the rent and childcare are in euro, and two tax systems are involved. This guide covers the money side and the tax basics.
Where the salary should land
A Northern Ireland employer pays through UK payroll, usually to a UK sort code and account number. You have three options:
- A UK bank account. Simple for the employer. Some UK banks restrict accounts for customers living outside the UK, so check your bank's terms; see keeping a UK bank account after moving to Ireland.
- A GBP balance with UK details in a multicurrency account. Payroll sees a normal UK account; you see pounds you can convert when you choose.
- Your Irish euro IBAN. Possible if the employer's payroll pays abroad, but every payslip is then converted at a rate set by the sending or receiving bank.
Converting sterling to euro
Converting monthly at a rate you can see usually beats a silent conversion on each payment. Example only: a net salary of £2,600 at an example mid-market rate of €1.15 to £1 is worth €2,990. A bank converting at €1.12 would give you €2,912, a cost of €78 for the month, or €936 over a year. Converting yourself at €1.145 with a €4 fee would give €2,973, a cost of €17. The figures are illustrations; compare the euro you receive against the mid-market rate on the day.
Keep some pounds unconverted if you have sterling costs, such as fuel or shopping in the North, or a UK credit card.
Tax basics
Revenue treats you as Irish-resident if you spend 183 days or more in Ireland in a tax year, or 280 days across the current and previous years. Residents who are also domiciled in Ireland are chargeable on worldwide income, which includes a Northern Ireland salary. If your employer runs UK payroll, UK tax is taken from your pay before it reaches you. To stop the same income being taxed twice, Revenue offers Transborder Workers' Relief.
Who qualifies
Revenue's Tax and Duty Manual on section 825A (reviewed May 2026) sets out the conditions:
- You are resident in Ireland.
- The employment is in a country with which Ireland has a double taxation agreement, and is held for at least 13 continuous weeks in the tax year.
- The duties are performed wholly outside Ireland; incidental duties here are allowed.
- For each week you work abroad, you are present in Ireland for at least one day.
- Tax on the income has been paid in the other country and is not repayable.
- State employments and employments with Irish statutory bodies are excluded.
How the relief works
Irish tax is reduced to a "specified amount": your total Irish tax multiplied by your income other than the foreign employment income, divided by your total income. You get no credit for the UK tax as well. Revenue's own example (published 11 September 2026) is a resident earning £20,000 in Northern Ireland and €5,000 in Irish rent, whose Irish tax falls from €2,292 to €403. If the Northern Ireland salary is your only income, the specified amount is nil. You claim through your Form 11 or by writing to Revenue via myEnquiries, with a final statement of your UK tax.
Working from home in Ireland for the Belfast employer changes the picture, because duties must be performed wholly outside Ireland. Talk to your employer and Revenue before agreeing to hybrid work. This is information, not tax advice.
Records to keep
- Your UK payslips and the end-of-year UK tax statement from your employer, which shows the UK tax paid that the relief depends on.
- A simple diary of the days you were in Ireland and the days you worked in Northern Ireland, week by week.
- Bank statements showing the salary received and any conversions to euro, with the rate and date.
- Copies of your Form 11 and any correspondence with Revenue through myEnquiries.
Revenue's 2025 Form 11 pay and file date is 31 October 2026, or 18 November 2026 if you pay and file on ROS.
Cash and the border
Revenue says the EU cash declaration rules do not apply to movements between Ireland and Northern Ireland. They do apply between Ireland and Great Britain, so carrying cash from a trip to London is different from bringing it down from Belfast.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme personal account, opened from Ireland, holds GBP with UK local details and EUR with euro details, alongside USD and NGN. Salary can arrive in pounds and stay there until you convert with Swap, at a rate shown before you approve. If you also support family at home, the same app can send to Nigerian banks. See receiving pounds from the UK in Ireland.
Questions people ask
Do I pay tax in Ireland on my Belfast salary?
It is chargeable if you are resident and domiciled in Ireland, but Transborder Workers' Relief can remove most or all of the Irish tax if you meet the conditions.
What are the conditions for Transborder Workers' Relief?
Irish residence, a job in a treaty country held for at least 13 weeks, duties wholly outside Ireland, a day in Ireland each working week, and foreign tax paid.
Can my Belfast employer pay me in euro?
Some can, but you lose control of the rate. Receiving pounds and converting yourself usually costs less.
Do I need to declare cash carried from Belfast to Dublin?
Revenue says the EU cash rules do not apply to movements between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Sources
- Tax and Duty Manual Part 34-00-06, Trans Border Workers (s.825A TCA 1997), Revenue (reviewed May 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- How do you calculate how much relief is due? Transborder Workers' Relief, Revenue (published 11 Sep 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Resident for tax purposes, Revenue (24 Nov 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- Tax residence, Revenue (24 Nov 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- Travelling with, or sending, cash, Revenue (published 4 May 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Filing your tax return, Revenue (published 5 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.