Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 531AO

Deduction and payment of universal social charge on relevant emoluments

Section 531AO establishes the employer's primary liability to pay universal social charge on relevant emoluments and sets out the obligations for monthly USC returns to Revenue.

• The employer is primarily liable to pay USC on relevant emoluments, and where emoluments are paid in shares, the employer may withhold and sell sufficient shares to meet the USC due.
• Employers must file a monthly USC return by the return filing date, which is the 14th of the month following the month in which USC was deducted or repaid.
• Revenue may issue a statement to an employer setting out the USC liability for a month, and this statement is deemed to be the employer's return.
• Repayments of USC are subject to a four-year time limit, and an employer who is refused a repayment on that basis has a right of appeal to the Appeal Commissioners.