Skip to content
income.ie

Public-sector pay scale · 2026

Teacher Pay Scales Ireland 2026

The Teacher pay scale runs from €43,774 to €86,265 a year in 2026, across every grade from Primary (pre-2011 entrants) to Post-primary (2011 onward). After income tax, USC and PRSI, that is about €36,318 to €57,972 in take-home pay for a single person.

From €43,774
To €86,265
Take-home (entry) €36,318
Take-home (top) €57,972
Advertisement

Teacher — every grade, point 1 to maximum

Full consolidated scale by grade, effective 1 June 2026. Expand a grade to see every point; take-home shown is for a single PAYE worker.

Primary (pre-2011 entrants) €43,774 – €78,205
Point Basic / year
Point 1 €43,774
Point 2 €44,644
Point 3 €45,868
Point 4 €47,097
Point 5 €49,002
Point 6 €50,237
Point 7 €51,476
Point 8 €54,669
Point 9 €56,327
Point 10 €58,341
Point 11 €60,362
Point 12 €62,407
Point 13 €64,118
Point 14 €66,386
Point 15 €66,386
Point 16 €66,386
Point 17 €69,511
Point 18 €69,511
Point 19 €69,511
Point 20 €69,511
Point 21 €73,644
Point 22 €73,644
Point 23 €73,644
Point 24 €73,644
Point 25 (max) €78,205
Primary (2011 onward) €45,833 – €84,412
Point Basic / year
Point 1 €45,833
Point 2 €47,503
Point 3 €49,409
Point 4 €50,280
Point 5 €51,510
Point 6 €53,015
Point 7 €54,742
Point 8 €56,534
Point 9 €58,051
Point 10 €60,785
Point 11 €62,495
Point 12 €64,537
Point 13 €66,567
Point 14 €68,618
Point 15 €70,329
Point 16 €72,596
Point 17 €72,596
Point 18 €72,596
Point 19 €75,721
Point 20 €75,721
Point 21 €75,721
Point 22 €75,721
Point 23 €79,854
Point 24 €79,854
Point 25 €79,854
Point 26 €79,854
Point 27 (max) €84,412
Post-primary (2011 onward) €47,417 – €86,265
Point Basic / year
Point 1 €47,417
Point 2 €49,092
Point 3 €51,005
Point 4 €51,888
Point 5 €53,137
Point 6 €54,679
Point 7 €56,458
Point 8 €58,279
Point 9 €59,808
Point 10 €62,551
Point 11 €64,264
Point 12 €66,317
Point 13 €68,356
Point 14 €70,410
Point 15 €72,129
Point 16 €74,405
Point 17 €74,405
Point 18 €74,405
Point 19 €77,541
Point 20 €77,541
Point 21 €77,541
Point 22 €77,541
Point 23 €81,684
Point 24 €81,684
Point 25 €81,684
Point 26 €81,684
Point 27 (max) €86,265

Primary teachers: pre-2011 entrants €43,774–€78,205 (qualification allowances paid separately, not included); 2011-onward entrants €45,833–€84,412 on the longer common basic scale. Post-primary (secondary) teachers on the equivalent 2011-onward common basic scale: €47,417–€86,265. Promoted posts (Assistant Principal, Deputy Principal, Principal) carry allowances on top of the scale — set out below for both primary and post-primary.

Promoted posts — allowances on top of the scale

Paid in addition to your point on the scale above, so a Deputy Principal earns their scale point plus the allowance for their school. Primary and post-primary use separate scales — check the one that applies to you.

Primary

Effective 1 June 2026.

  • Assistant Principal I €10,692
  • Assistant Principal II €4,730
Principal & Deputy Principal, 14 categories €8,182 – €52,730
Category Principal Deputy Principal
I €16,512 €8,182
II €16,512 €8,182
III €19,376 €10,259
IV €22,540 €12,265
V €25,748 €14,364
VI €28,856 €16,381
VII €31,998 €18,362
VIII €34,308 €19,924
IX €36,696 €21,446
X €40,176 €23,806
XI €42,530 €25,266
XII €47,078 €28,423
XIII €48,615 €29,042
XIV €52,730 €31,729

Category is set by the school category (number of allocated posts). The circular notes categories I and II may be broken down further by allocated posts, but the rate is the same for both. Primary principals and deputy principals also have a separate Points Rating element keyed to pupil enrolment (Circular 0055/2026 Appendix 4 (iii)(c)(d)), not reproduced here.

Dept of Education Circular Letter 0055/2026, Appendix 4 (iii)(a)(b) and (iv) — Primary Teacher Salaries effective 1 June 2026. Rates include the Local Bargaining increase published in Circular 0054/2026.

Post-primary (second-level)

Effective 1 June 2026.

  • Assistant Principal I €10,728
  • Assistant Principal II €4,747
Principal & Deputy Principal, 17 categories €4,747 – €53,488
Category Teaching posts Principal Deputy Principal
I 1–3 €11,726 €4,747
II 4–5 €13,140 €6,212
III 6 €15,413 €8,210
IV 7–8 €18,086 €10,293
V 9–10 €21,039 €12,309
VI 11–12 €24,036 €14,414
VII 13–15 €26,936 €16,438
VIII 16 €29,869 €18,426
IX 17–19 €32,024 €19,994
X 20–22 €34,254 €21,521
XI 23–26 €37,503 €23,889
XII 27–30 €39,699 €25,354
XIII 31–35 €43,946 €28,521
XIV 36–40 €45,381 €29,143
XV 41–50 €49,222 €31,839
XVI 51–60 €51,356 €33,064
XVII 61+ €53,488 €34,280

Category is set by the number of authorised teaching posts in the school

ASTI-published posts-of-responsibility rates effective 01/06/2026, verified against Dept of Education Circular Letter 0007/2023 Appendix 4 (iii)(a)(b): all 36 post-primary values uprate by a uniform ×1.1164 from the 01/03/2023 rates. Band structure independently corroborated by Circular 07/98.

Advertisement

Work out take-home for any point on the scale

Prefilled to the midpoint

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

€47,573

€3,964.45 a month

Gross income€65,020
Income tax20% / 40% less credits− €13,208
USC− €1,483
PRSI− €2,755
Net take-home€47,573
Effective rate26.8%
Marginal rate47.2%

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.

About these figures

Primary teachers: pre-2011 entrants €43,774–€78,205 (qualification allowances paid separately, not included); 2011-onward entrants €45,833–€84,412 on the longer common basic scale. Post-primary (secondary) teachers on the equivalent 2011-onward common basic scale: €47,417–€86,265. Promoted posts (Assistant Principal, Deputy Principal, Principal) carry allowances on top of the scale — set out below for both primary and post-primary. Take-home is worked out for a single PAYE worker; a pension contribution or different tax credits will change the net figure. Use the calculator above to model your own situation.

Public-sector scales rise by yearly increments, so where you sit depends on your service. Allowances and long-service increments can lift pay above the published maximum.

Teacher pay — common questions

What is the Teacher pay scale in 2026?
Teacher pay runs from about €43,774 to €86,265 a year, per Dept of Education Circular Letter 0055/2026 (primary, effective 1 June 2026) & TUI-published post-primary Common Basic Scale (same effective date). Primary teachers: pre-2011 entrants €43,774–€78,205 (qualification allowances paid separately, not included); 2011-onward entrants €45,833–€84,412 on the longer common basic scale. Post-primary (secondary) teachers on the equivalent 2011-onward common basic scale: €47,417–€86,265. Promoted posts (Assistant Principal, Deputy Principal, Principal) carry allowances on top of the scale — set out below for both primary and post-primary.
What is the take-home pay on the Teacher pay scale?
On the entry figure of €43,774, a single person takes home about €36,318 a year (€3,026.52 a month). At the top of the range, €86,265, take-home is about €57,972 a year (€4,830.98 a month).
Where do these figures come from?
Dept of Education Circular Letter 0055/2026 (primary, effective 1 June 2026) & TUI-published post-primary Common Basic Scale (same effective date), effective 1 June 2026. Public-sector figures are the official published scales; private-sector ranges are from a recruiter salary guide.
What is the Primary (pre-2011 entrants) pay scale?
Primary (pre-2011 entrants) runs from €43,774 (point 1) to €78,205 (scale maximum) in 2026. Take-home for a single PAYE worker is about €36,318 to €54,122 a year.
What is the Primary (2011 onward) pay scale?
Primary (2011 onward) runs from €45,833 (point 1) to €84,412 (scale maximum) in 2026. Take-home for a single PAYE worker is about €37,450 to €57,087 a year.
What is the Post-primary (2011 onward) pay scale?
Post-primary (2011 onward) runs from €47,417 (point 1) to €86,265 (scale maximum) in 2026. Take-home for a single PAYE worker is about €38,286 to €57,972 a year.