Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
You keep 100% of your social welfare payment, including increases for a qualified adult and any children, for the first year, then 75% for the second, up to a maximum of 624 paid days. It is not taxable and no PRSI is charged on it, though the income from the business itself may be taxable.
Last checked October 2026
What it is
Keep part of your social welfare payment while you get a new business going, 100% of it for the first year and 75% for the second. This is the one for someone going self-employed, becoming a sole trader or starting a small business from Jobseeker's Allowance, One-Parent Family Payment, Jobseeker's Transitional Payment, Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Carer's Allowance, Blind Pension, Farm Assist or certain other payments. Carer's Allowance counts only at the full rate and only once you have stopped caring. If you are on Farm Assist the new business cannot relate to the farm holding. It is paid only to people under 66. Straight Jobseeker's Benefit does NOT qualify for this one, the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance is the equivalent. Do not start trading until you have written approval. Go to Intreo first, not the Local Development Company: the guidelines say somebody who approaches the LDC first should be sent back to an Employment Personal Adviser for an eligibility check before anything else. Apply on form BTW2 (September 2025 edition). Applications from people on Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Carer's Allowance, Illness Benefit, Blind Pension or the Widow's Non-Contributory Pension are decided centrally in Carrick-on-Shannon rather than at your local office. It is an administrative scheme, so a refusal cannot be appealed to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, but you can ask the Department to review it.
Who can get it
- You are under 66. It is only payable up to your 66th birthday
- You have been getting a qualifying payment for 9 months (234 paid days), which includes Jobseeker's Allowance, One-Parent Family Payment, Jobseeker's Transitional Payment, Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Blind Pension, Farm Assist (the new business cannot relate to the farm holding), Carer's Allowance (full rate only and you must give up the caring), or the Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Non-Contributory Pension
- You are setting up a genuinely new business. Not one bought, inherited or leased as a going concern, and not a franchise or an already established brand
- You have NOT started trading. The written approval has to come first
- Straight Jobseeker's Benefit does not qualify. The Department's guidelines say a Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit claimant is not entitled to this and should look at the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance instead. CASUAL Jobseeker's Benefit or Allowance is different: that route needs 12 months (312 days) with no more than 30 days off the Live Register.
- The Enterprise Support Grant of up to €2,500 goes with this, for equipment, tools, insurance, a website and more. Gov.ie's own Back to Work Enterprise Allowance page never mentions it, so write the costs into your business plan when you apply.
- You cannot take paid employment as an employee, full-time or part-time, while you are on it. The department's reasoning is that you should be giving the business all your time. There are two narrow exceptions: a contracted or guest lecturer, teacher or trainer, which a case officer looks at case by case and a retained firefighter who is on Jobseeker's Allowance.
- Time spent on a course, on Community Employment, Tús, the Rural Social Scheme, the Work Placement Experience Programme or in prison in the State can count towards the 9 months, as long as a qualifying payment came first. Time on Supplementary Welfare Allowance can count without a qualifying payment first.
- You have to start within 12 weeks of approval unless your adviser agrees a longer run-in, and there are follow-up meetings at 3 months and 9 months to check the business is trading as the plan said.
- Five years have to pass before you can claim it again, whether for a new business or the same one.
- It is not means-tested, and money from other sources is not assessed once it arrives after the claim is awarded. But you cannot claim it alongside another primary payment, or with half-rate Carer's Allowance.
How to apply
Applications go through DSP. The official page has the full eligibility rules and the application itself.
Go to the official page →Checked against the official source on 7 October 2026. Always confirm the details on the official page before applying.
Questions people ask
How much do I keep?
100% of your social welfare payment in year one and 75% in year two, including increases for a qualified adult and children, up to 624 paid days in total. It is not taxable, although your business income may be.
Can I get it if I am on Jobseeker's Benefit?
Not on straight Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit. The Department's guidelines point those claimants to the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance instead. Casual Jobseeker's Benefit or Allowance can qualify, but on a longer test of 12 months or 312 days.
Can I start the business while I am waiting for a decision?
No. The service page says you must not take up self-employment until you have received written approval from the Department, and the business has to be recommended in advance by both the Local Development Company's Enterprise Officer and your Employment Personal Adviser.
Is there a grant as well as the weekly payment?
Yes. The Enterprise Support Grant pays up to €2,500 towards start-up costs such as equipment, tools, public liability insurance, signage and a website. You contribute 20%, or 10% for mentoring and short training.
Related guides
Not sure if this one is you?
Describe your situation in your own words and the assistant shows every support you might qualify for, this one included. Free, no sign up, anonymous.
Check what you might qualify for →Grants change all the time.
Leave your email and I will tell you if the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance changes, or a new support opens that fits you. It is free and there is no spam.