Taxpayers missing out on €800 refunds
Revenue has already given back €323 million to taxpayers in the first six months of this year after paying out a record €648m last year. This was up from the €585m it handed back in 2008.
However, it has been estimated that as much as €420m is going unclaimed each year by PAYE workers who are not claiming back tax credits on medical expenses, bin charges and trade union subscriptions. People can also claim for things such as rental expenses and dental fees.
Last year Revenue paid back €102m on medical expenses, €44m on rent and €4.2m on trade union subscriptions. It said people don’t have to send receipts when making a claim but must keep them for six years in case Revenue requests them in the future.
Taxback.com tax adviser Darren Byrne said his company assists around 20,000 customers each year in reclaiming overpaid tax. The company says the average refund due to a PAYE worker is around €840.
“This refund typically arises as many individuals are still unaware of exactly what credits and reliefs they are entitled to claim. This is despite an active initiative by Revenue to educate the general public on the credits, reliefs and exemptions available to them,” he said.
As the recession bites deeper, the company is busier than ever. According to Taxback.com it filed three times more claims in 2009 than it did in 2007.
Fellow Taxback.com adviser Andrea McDonnell said: “We have seen an increase of more than 100% in the application for PAYE refunds over the past year. We believe this influx is due to an increase in public awareness of tax credits and relief entitlement.”
Taxpayers can claim tax back for up to four years so claims can be made in 2010 for the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 tax years.
Mr Byrne said that due to changes in the budget each year, people may be missing out on valuable reliefs.
