€44m tax refunds left in Australia

THE 15,000 Irish people who worked in Australia last year could be due a tax refund of about €3,000 each.

Taxback.com, the tax returns and recovery services, says more than €44 million is waiting to be claimed.

It is estimated that around 15,000 Irish people travelled to Australia on working holiday visas between June 2009 and July 2010. All of those who worked there are entitled to a tax refund.

Meabh Ní Riain of the taxback.com’s Sydney office said the primary tax refund entitlements Irish people can claim for are income tax and superannuation.

She said people are refunded, on average, A$2,500 (€1,860) for income tax and $1,480 (€1,100) for superannuation.

“So each of the approximately 15,000 travellers to Oz last year could potentially be entitled to approximately A$3,980 in tax refunds,” she said. “That is a substantial sum of money by anyone’s standards and is certainly not something to be left behind or forgotten.”

Tax entitlements can be applied for up to eight years after the person earned the income in question.

“The Australian tax year runs from July 1 to June 30 the following year. If someone has worked in Australia from any time from 2004 up until June 30, 2010, they can apply for their refund straight away. The people who apply now will be among the first to receive their refunds once the tax year ends,” said Ms Ní Riain.

Taxback.com says the size of the income tax refund will depend on the type of visa, earning power and the length of time worked.

Taxback.com estimates that around 75% of people who return to Ireland each year, having worked in Australia, do not claim the superannuation refund.

“Anyone who earned over A$450 a month when they were working in Oz would’ve paid up to 9% of their wages into a superannuation fund. Typical refunds can amount to anything from A$600 up to A$5,000, although a customer of ours recently got back an A$18,000 superannuation refund.

“Given the volume of Irish people that have travelled to Australia over the last few years, it stands to reason that there could be millions in unclaimed income tax and superannuation and we are determined to make those eligible aware of the ease at which they can get this money back,” said Ms Ní Riain.

This news comes as figures show the number of Irish people living in Australia illegally has more than doubled in three years as people delay coming home.