Revenue gets more than 120,000 claims for rent tax credit in January

Over 485,000 tax returns have been processed in respect of PAYE taxpayers who have already filed their return for 2022. Photo: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ie

More than 120,000 claims for rent tax credit were made by PAYE taxpayers in January, according to figures from Revenue.

The tax credit contributed to a jump in people filing their tax returns early, as Revenue recorded a 32% increase compared to January 2022.

“Of the returns already filed in January, approximately 360,000 resulted in an overpayment of tax and, as a result, €274m has already been refunded to individuals’ bank accounts,” said Aisling Ní Mhaoileoin, Revenue’s national PAYE manager.

Claims for the rent credit came second to claims for medical expenses in terms of volume.

“The value of the credit is up to €500 per year for individual taxpayers and up to €1,000 per year for jointly assessed married persons or civil partners. For 2023, we expect that from mid-February, customers will be able to claim the credit in real-time through the Manage Your Tax option in myAccount,” said Ms Ní Mhaoileoin.

The preliminary statistics show that the vast majority of claimants of the rent credit to date, some 90%, have indicated that they are in a tenancy that is registered with the Residential Tenancy Board. The remaining 10% report being in a rent a room or digs situation.

Over 485,000 tax returns have been processed in respect of PAYE taxpayers who have already filed their return for 2022.