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AO pay scale 2026

The Administrative Officer (AO) scale runs from €41,176 at point 1 to €76,546 at the top, across 12 points — 10 ordinary increments plus 2 long service increments. On the starting point a single PAYE worker takes home about €34,428 a year, or €2,868.99 a month, after income tax, USC and PRSI.

Point 1 €41,176 €34,428 take-home
Maximum (12 points) €76,546 €53,330 take-home
Years to scale max 9 then 2 LSI

Every point on the AO scale

Gross and take-home at each point — scale effective 1 June 2026. Take-home is a full-year estimate for a single PAYE worker on Class A PRSI, before pension.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year
Point 1 €41,176 €34,428
Point 2 €43,899 €36,409
Point 3 €44,678 €36,840
Point 4 €48,089 €38,640
Point 5 €52,470 €40,952
Point 6 €55,949 €42,787
Point 7 €59,567 €44,696
Point 8 €63,232 €46,630
Point 9 €66,895 €48,563
Point 10 (max) €70,547 €50,464
LSI1 €73,077 €51,673
LSI2 €76,546 €53,330

Long service increments are not annual. LSI1 is paid after 3 years on the maximum of the scale and LSI2 after a further 3 years.

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Work out your own AO take-home

Prefilled to the AO starting point. Change the gross, add a pension contribution, or switch to married to see the effect.

Prefilled to AO point 1 — €41,176

Your situation
Optional adjustmentsPension, bonus, auto-enrolment
0% · €0

At age 35, Revenue relief is limited to 20% of earnings, with earnings capped at €115,000.

Your take-home

€34,428

€2,868.99 a month

Gross income€41,176
Income tax20% / 40% less credits− €4,235
USC− €768
PRSI− €1,745
Net take-home€34,428
Effective rate16.4%
Marginal rate27.2%

2026 Class A estimate assuming uniform weekly pay: 4.2% through September and 4.35% from October, blended over the year. Actual PRSI is calculated per pay period and can differ with bonuses, unpaid weeks or a 53-week payroll year. Figures are not stored; calculator events use only a broad salary band.

Other grades on this scale

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AO pay scale — common questions

What is the AO pay scale in 2026?
The Administrative Officer (AO) scale runs from €41,176 at point 1 to €76,546 at the top, across 12 points, of which the last 2 are long service increments. Figures are the scale effective 1 June 2026.
What is AO take-home pay after tax?
A single PAYE worker on the AO starting point of €41,176 takes home about €34,428 a year (€2,868.99 a month). At the €76,546 maximum that is about €53,330 a year. This is a full-year estimate after income tax, USC and PRSI, before any pension deduction.
How long does it take to reach the top of the AO scale?
There are 10 ordinary points, so roughly 9 years of satisfactory service reaches €70,547. The remaining 2 points are long service increments: LSI1 is paid after 3 years on the maximum and LSI2 after a further 3, taking the scale to €76,546.
Do AO increments happen automatically?
Ordinary increments are annual and depend on satisfactory service rather than being automatic. Long service increments are different again — they are only paid after a qualifying period sitting at the maximum of the scale, not each year.