The 10 yr rule only applies to ex-gratia payments. ie redundancy payment in addition to statutary.
Statutory is:
Two weeks pay for each year of service + one weeks pay (capped at 600)
This is tax-free.
The Basic tax-free exemption applies to ex-gratia amounts, and is;
10,165 + (Euro 765 x years service)
This ex-gratia amount is tax-free if it is equal to or less than the 'Basic Exemption'.
Any amount above the Basic exemption is taxed at your highest tax rate.
An additional tax-free exemption of 10,000 is available but only if;
- no previous tax-free lump sum received in the last 10 years
- If you have never received a tax-free lump sum and you are not getting a lump sum pension payment
You have to apply for this increased exemption from Revenue.
Useful link;
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/c...retirement/retirement_lump_sum_taxation#rules
Also, you should declare all redundancy amounts received in your 2009 tax return.
On 'Form 12', select 'Yes' to 'Top Slicing Relief' (as a refund may be available to you if the tax rate used to tax your redundancy is higher than your average tax rate over the last 3 years).