selfemplyed for 3 years blocklaying contractor and to be honest the hassle is significant, you really have to be very highly motivated , allthough i will say i have had a much better standard of living since becoming self employed anyway, yes you pay prsi of 8.5% of every penny you pay an employee plus the prsi that is deducted from their weekly wage, you pay the employees paye and prsi on a 3 monthly basis , and you must pay the vat that you collect on a bi monthly basis, you shouldnt have to pay income tax yourself for about 18 months then you pay the tax on ur first years trading so each yeah you are paying for the previous years trading, yes you will have prsi contributions to pay for yourself and yes you do get the usual tax credits at end of year take the employees wages inc prsi paye any any business recipts pension contributions and the like away from gross earnings and expect to pay 42% on the remainder