Millions of euro tax unclaimed each year

MILLIONS of euro is still going unclaimed every year with people failing to request their tax back.

Tax advisor with taxback.com Darren Byrne said there is an increase in those who are claiming back from Revenue what they are owed but there is still millions of euro going unclaimed each year.

“Given the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming Budget, set for December 6, now is a very good time for taxpayers to ensure they are claiming everything that they may be entitled to,” he said.

Last year, taxback.com worked with more than 35,000 Irish taxpayers with their tax affairs, and the company said that that number is set to increase significantly for 2011.

“A lot of people still find filing a tax return confusing or complicated, often resulting in them paying more tax than may be necessary,” said Mr Byrne. “Revenue have made attempts to educate taxpayers as to their entitlements regarding tax credits and reliefs, however, despite this we believe that millions of euro may be going unclaimed each year.”

Some of the credits include rent, health, dental, tuition and refuse expenses.

Taxback.com has seen a 15% increase in the number of PAYE workers looking to claim for medical expenses. The tax relief was cut from 41% to 20% at the beginning of 2009.

“If a person has incurred medical expenses such as doctor’s bills, prescription medicines, or even laser eye surgery they can claim tax relief on all of these.

“However, other, lesser known medical expenses such as costs incurred for in-vitro fertilisation, gluten-free food for coeliacs and diagnostic procedures and physiotherapy carried out on the advice of a practitioner may all also qualify for this valuable tax relief,” said Mr Byrne.

There has been a 21% drop in the number of people claiming relief for tuition fees. Tax relief at the standard rate (20%) may be available in respect of tuition fees paid for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in approved colleges. Tax relief may also be available for tuition fees paid for certain training courses in the areas of information technology and foreign languages.

“It’s important to note, however, that registration fees, administration fees and examination fees, although they may be high, unfortunately do not qualify for tax relief.

“Given the current state of the job market and length of the dole queues, remaining in education is an attractive refuge for many students, both Irish and foreign, and so this tax relief is certainly one worth remembering,” said Mr Byrne.

*www.taxback.com