CHAPTER 3

Self-Employed Contributors and Self-Employment Contributions

[1988, s. 11]

17.—(1) Subject to this Act—

(a) every person who, being over the age of 16 years and under pensionable age (not being a person included in any of the classes of person specified in Part III of the First Schedule ) who has reckonable income or reckonable emoluments shall be a self-employed contributor for the purposes of this Act, regardless of whether he is also an employed contributor,

(b) every person becoming for the first time a self-employed contributor shall thereby become insured under this Act and shall thereafter continue throughout his life to be so insured, and

(c) in the case of a person who, not having been an employed contributor at any time, becomes for the first time a self-employed contributor the first day of the contribution year in which he becomes a self-employed contributor shall be regarded as the date of entry into insurance.

[1988, ss. 11, 16(1)]

(2) Regulations may provide for —

(a) including among self-employed contributors classes of person or part of any such class of person specified in or included in Part III of the First Schedule ,

(b) adding to the classes of person specified in Part III of the First Schedule ,

(c) the modification of any of the provisions of this Act relating to self-employed contributors,

(d) the application (with or without modification) to self-employed contributors or self-employment contributions payable under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 18(1) any provisions of this Act which apply to employed contributors or employment contributions.

[1991, s. 13(1); 1993, s. 17(1)]

18.—(1) Self-employment contributions shall be paid by self-employed contributors in accordance with the following provisions—

(a) Subject to paragraphs (b), (d) and (h), where in any contribution year a self-employed contributor has reckonable income there shall be payable by him a self-employment contribution which shall be of an amount equal to 5 per cent. of the reckonable income or the amount of £250, whichever is the greater.

(b) Where for any contribution year a self-employed contributor is informed by the Revenue Commissioners that he is not required to make a return of income within the meaning of section 48 (1) of the Finance Act, 1986 , self-employment contributions shall be paid by the self-employed contributor (whether by instalments or otherwise as may be prescribed) amounting to £124 in respect of that contribution year.

(c) Subject to paragraphs (d) and (h), where in any contribution year a payment is made to a self-employed contributor in respect of reckonable emoluments of that self-employed contributor, there shall be payable by him a self-employment contribution which shall be of an amount equal to 5 per cent. of reckonable emoluments or the amount of £250, whichever is the greater.

(d) Contributions under paragraph (a) or (c) shall not be payable in any contribution year on so much (if any) of the reckonable income or reckonable emoluments for that year of a self-employed contributor as is in excess of £20,000.

(e) Subject to regulations under section 19, where a self-employment contribution has been paid by a self-employed contributor of not less than the amount that he is liable to pay under paragraph (a) or the amount specified in paragraph (b), whichever is appropriate, he shall be regarded as having paid contributions for each contribution week in that contribution year and, where the contribution paid is less than the appropriate amount aforesaid, no contribution shall be regarded as having been paid by the self-employed contributor in respect of any week of that contribution year.

(f) The Minister may by regulations vary the sum specified in paragraph (d) and such variation shall take effect from the beginning of the contribution year following that in which the regulations are made.

(g) Subject to subsection (3) of section 23, self-employment contributions shall be disregarded in determining whether the contribution conditions for any benefit other than old age (contributory) pension, widow's (contributory) pension or orphan's (contributory) allowance are satisfied.

(h) A person who but for this paragraph would be liable for contributions of £250 under both paragraph (a) and paragraph (c) shall be liable only for a single contribution of £250.

[1988, s. 16(2)]

(2) Regulations may provide for adjustments in the calculation of amounts payable in respect of self-employment contributions to facilitate computation and for the elimination from self-employment contributions of amounts of not more than 5p and for the rounding up of amounts of more than 5p but less than 10p to 10p.

[1988, s. 11]

19.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), regulations may provide for the determination of the contributions payable, the amount or rates of such contributions, and the contribution weeks in respect of which such contributions shall be regarded as having been paid, in the case of a person who—

(a) becomes for the first time a self-employed contributor,

(b) ceases to be a self-employed contributor,

(c) is both an employed contributor and a self-employed contributor whether concurrently or not,

(d) in any contribution year has reckonable emoluments but does not have reckonable income,

(e) in any contribution year has both reckonable emoluments and reckonable income, or

(f) in any contribution year has reckonable emoluments which relate to a period less than the full year.

[1988, s. 11; 1989, s. 9(2)]

(2) Regulations made under subsection (1) shall not cause an insured person to pay contributions on the excess over the amount specified in section 18(1)(d) of the aggregate of his total reckonable earnings, reckonable emoluments and reckonable income in any contribution year.

[1989, s. 23]

(3) The Minister may by regulations specify circumstances in which contributions payable by a self-employed contributor may be treated as paid.

[1988, s. 11]

(4) For the purposes of this section “contributions” means employment contributions payable under section 10 and self-employment contributions payable under section 18.

[1988, s. 11]

20.—(1) For the purposes of self-employment contributions payable under section 18(1)(b) and (c), regulations may provide for—

(a) the time and manner of payment of self-employment contributions,

(b) the collection and the recovery of and the furnishing of details in relation to self-employment contributions,

(c) the charging of interest on arrears of self-employment contributions,

(d) the waiving of interest due on arrears of self-employment contributions,

(e) the estimation of amounts due in respect of self-employment contributions and appeals in relation to such estimates,

(f) the furnishing of returns by employers in relation to periods of insurable self-employment,

(g) the deduction by an employer from the reckonable emoluments of a self-employed contributor of any self-employment contribution reasonably believed by the employer to be due by the contributor, and adjustment in any case of overdeduction, and

(h) any matter ancillary or incidental to any of the matters referred to in any of the preceding paragraphs of this subsection.

[1988, s. 11]

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under that subsection may provide for the assignment of any function relating to a matter referred to in that subsection to the Collector-General or to such person as may be specified.

[1988, s. 11]

(3) The provisions of any enactment or instrument made under statute relating to the estimation, collection or recovery of income tax or the inspection of records for those purposes or relating to appeals in relation to income tax shall with any necessary modifications apply in relation to self-employment contributions in respect of reckonable emoluments that the Collector-General is obliged to collect as they apply in relation to income tax.

[1988, s. 11]

(4) Self-employment contributions payable by a self-employed contributor for a contribution year under section 18(1)(a) in respect of reckonable income shall be assessed, charged and paid in all respects as if they were an amount of income tax and they may be stated in one sum (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the “aggregated sum”) with the income tax contained in any computation of or assessment to income tax made by or on the self-employed contributor for the year of assessment (within the meaning of the Income Tax Acts) which coincides with the contribution year and for this purpose the self-employed contributions may be so stated notwithstanding that there is no amount of income tax contained in the said computation or assessment and all the provisions of the Income Tax Acts, other than any such provisions in so far as they relate to the granting of any allowance, deduction or relief, shall apply as if the aggregated sum were a single sum of income tax.

[1988, s. 11]

(5) Where an election made or deemed to be made under section 195 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , has effect for the year of assessment the self-employment contributions payable by a wife shall be charged, collected and recovered as if they were the contributions of her husband provided that the question as to the amount of the self-employment contributions so payable in respect of the husband or the wife shall not be affected by the provisions of this subsection.

[1988, s. 11]

(6) In any proceedings instituted by virtue of this Act, a certificate purporting to be signed by the Collector-General or by any officer duly appointed by the Minister in that behalf which certifies that an amount in respect of employment or self-employment contributions is due and payable by the defendant shall be evidence until the contrary is proved that that amount is so due and payable.