Men are most likely to claim back tax
According to Taxback.com’s latest customer index, it is men, and not women, who are most determined when it comes to claiming tax rebates to which they are entitled.
After a 12-month analysis of its customers, the tax experts found that the under 45s account for 74% of all refunds issued by Revenue, with the 25 to 34-year-old age group the most likely to apply — making up 42% of all applications.
When broken down by gender, the analysis reveals that men make up 57% of all claims to Revenue. The tax experts said the data tallies with the latest statistics from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on labour force rates.
The Taxback.com index also highlighted that, although those in the younger age brackets are better at claiming refunds and entitlements, it’s the older workers who get more.
Senior tax manager at Taxback.com Barry Flanagan said there were reasons why older claimants get more back in refunds.
“The average refund rises steadily and significantly the older people get,” he said.
“This stands to reason as higher earners pay more tax and so are entitled to greater refunds. It could also be the case that older people have more medical expenses – which is one of the most popular items people can claim for.”
The index showed that the average refund for men was 10% greater than that of their female counterparts (€1028 vs €932), which Mr Flanagan said may be down to a gender pay gap.
“However, the ratio of females to males in part-time work could also come into play. There are currently 307,900 women working part time in Ireland, while there are just 132,700 men in the same position,” he said.
Geographical differences also emerged in the report. For example, in Donegal and Mayo, the 25- to 34-year-old age group made up 55% and 56% of applications respectively. However, in Kerry just 33% of applications came from the 25 to 34-year-old age group and it was the 35 to 44-year-old grouping that bucked the national average (29%) accounting for 37% of applications.
