Can you pay PRSI at Class S on unearned income?

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dub_nerd

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When PRSI was introduced for everyone on unearned income in 2014, I understood it was at Class K which conferred no social welfare entitlements. The other day I came across this in the Irish Times from last year:

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan extended the reach of PRSI so that it would be levied also on unearned income. Under the measure, any “unearned” income above €3,174 was made subject to the 4 per cent charge.

At the time, the Minister said PAYE workers and the self-employed would gain no extra social insurance benefits despite paying the additional contribution. The additional PRSI was categorised as Class K, which grants no benefits.

However, for those people whose entire income came from such “unearned” sources, the PRSI was categorised as Class S, under which State pension benefits accrue.​

The thing is, I can't find any other reference to Class S contributions on unearned income. I've looked at the Finance Act from 2014 and tried to find any relevant Social Welfare acts too, but turned up nothing. Did the IT just get it wrong?
 
That's an interesting find, thank you. Example 3 seems pretty unambiguous, but weirdly there's no references to Class S anywhere else on the page, or an indication of what rule is being applied. I guess I should check my PRSI record for the last couple of years and find out what way they've recorded it.


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So here's what I wrote to the Department of Social Protection:

The 4% PRSI charge on unearned income introduced from 2014 is normally at
Class K and confers no entitlement to SW benefits. It appears that Class S
applies where the payee's only source of income is unearned income, judging by
example 3 on this page:

https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Inf...ion-of-PRSI-Liability-to-Unearned-Income.aspx

But it doesn't state which rules or legislation applies and there is no other
reference to it on the page. I'm in this situation so am interested in checking
how my PRSI has been recorded for the last three years.

Regards,
dub_nerd.
Click to expand...

... and this is what I got back:

Dear dub_nerd,

Further to your email below, I can confirm that PRSI Class S applies on unearned income, if it is your only source of income and is over €5,000.

You can request a copy of your PRSI record at the following link https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/secure/RequestSIContributionRecord.aspx or contact our Self Employment Section on 051 356000 for further information.

Regards,
their_name
Scope Section
Click to expand...

So, in spite of everyone seeming very reluctant to say what legislation they are quoting from, it does seem to be the case that you pay Class S PRSI on unearned income if it is your only source of income and is above some threshold. Next step is to get a copy of my PRSI record. Anyone know when the records are updated for a given year? ... I paid my PRSI six months ago but it's not actually due until end of October and I might as well wait until 2016 is available.
 
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