PAYE REFUND

If you are a PAYE employee and are paying tax you should review your tax credits at least once a year.

Revenue will assign your tax credits and cut off points based on information you give them. If your circumstances change it is up to you to inform Revenue to have your credits amended.

In most cases adjustments of your credits may result in you paying less tax !

You can go back 4 years for a possible paye tax refund.

Contact our office for a brief chat on your entitlements.

Some of the available reliefs are listed below.

Married Persons Tax Credit.

If you are married and your spouse has an income below €16,500 you should look at transferring credits between yourselves more efficiently. Same with the standard rate cut off point.

Carers Credit

if you are married, and have dependents, and one spouse has either no income or earns less than €6,700 per annum, you can claim an extra credit worth up to €810 per annum.

In this case the carers credit applies to dependents being children, person 65 or over and a person permanently incapacitated.

Nursing Home Fees

Nursing home fees still allow tax relief at 41%. This means if you are paying €20,000 per year to a nursing home you can claim back up to €8,200 in tax if you are paying

tax at the higher rate. If your son/relative or other family are paying this for you they can claim this relief. Always remember, to use up all tax credits that are available to you…..OR your family!

Review who is paying tax, and who is paying the nursing home fee to optimise tax relief.

Medical Expenses

Relief is granted at 20% on certain medical expenses. Most medical expenses, with some exceptions e.g. routine dental and ophthalmic care, qualify for relief.

You cannot claim relief for any expenditure which has been or will be reimbursed, e.g. by Aviva Health, Quinn-healthcare, VHI, a Health Authority, or where a compensation payment is made or will be made.

Sick Pay – tax free

If you are in employment and were off sick for a long time you should be aware that sick pay or illness benefit is tax free for up to 6 weeks. Depending on how  your employer treats your sick pay you may be entitled to a refund.

Rent Relief

If you live in private rented accommodation in Ireland and pay income tax, you may be eligible for tax relief on part of your rent. Relief is also allowable on rent paid for premises outside the State. The relief is being phased out and 2017 will be its last year.

You are only able to claim this relief if you were already renting at 7 December 2010. If you were not renting on that date and you subsequently entered into a rental agreement, you will not be able to claim tax relief on your rent. However, if you were renting at 7 December 2010 you will continue to qualify for this relief even if you enter a new rental agreement after that date.

Tax relief on private rented accommodation is calculated at the standard rate of 20% whether your landlord lives in Ireland or abroad. The maximum amounts of relief on rent are as follows:

To work out what this is worth to you each year after tax, you multiply the tax allowance amounts above by 20%. So, for those aged:

• Under 55: the maximum amount that a single person under 55 can get is €240 (€1,200 x 20%) for rent paid in 2012. The maximum amount that you can get if you are married, widowed, in a civil partnership or a surviving civil partner is €480 (€2,400 x 20%) for rent paid in 2012.
• Over 55: the maximum amount that a single person over 55 can get is €480 (€2,400 x 20%) for rent paid in 2012. The maximum amount that you can get if you are married, widowed, in a civil partnership or a surviving civil partner is €960 (€4,800 x 20%) for rent paid in 2012.

As mentioned above, rent relief is being phased out. This table shows the amount of rent that will attract tax relief in each year up to 2017.