Global Daily Tax News, Ireland Updates Guide On Taxation Of Couriers, (Sep 10, 2026)

The Irish Revenue has updated its guidance on the Taxation of Couriers, in Tax and Duty Manual Part 04-01-07.

The changes are as follows:

• Paragraph 1 has been updated to remove reference to information in Appendix 1 in relation to a flat rate expense allowance regime for motorcycle and bicycle couriers which ceased to apply from January 1, 2019. Appendix 1 has also been removed to that effect;

• Paragraph 3 has been restructured and now includes guidance in relation to return of income for both employed and self-employed; and

• Paragraph 4 has been updated to include guidance on the deductibility of expenses in employment.

In particular, the guidance covers the Supreme Court judgement in the Karshan (Midlands) Ltd t/a Domino's Pizza case ([2023] IESC 24), which stipulated a five-step framework to determine employment status for taxation purposes. Example 9 in the Manual considers the status of a courier by reference to a particular set of circumstances and in applying the five-step framework, the courier is considered an employee.