Received a letter from Revenue about your tax refund? Here’s how to get your tax back online today!
Are you one of the more than 500,000 PAYE taxpayers who have received a letter from Revenue about the tax credits or reliefs you may be entitled to claim?
As of October 2023, over 317,000 PAYE workers who are due a tax refund for 2022 have yet to file a tax return to claim it.
A further 260,000 have yet to file their tax return for 2021.
As a result a substantial amount of money has been left with the taxman.
Many taxpayers miss out on claiming their tax entitlements as they are unsure of what they are owed.
With this in mind, we've put together this handy guide explaining the most common types of tax relief you can easily claim online today!
And remember, when you apply with Taxback, you are guaranteed to receive your maximum Irish tax refund! In fact, our average customer receives €1,880 - not bad! Our team will take care of all the tricky tax paperwork so that you don't have to. To get started, simply complete the short form here.
Download your FREE Irish Tax Guide
Why did I receive this letter from Revenue?
If you have received this letter, it means Revenue believes you have overpaid income tax on your salary, either last year or in 2021.
But you could be due even more tax back as Revenue may not be aware of all of the tax reliefs that you are entitled to - such as medical expenses, flat rate expenses, working from home tax relief, tuition fees, year of marriage tax relief, the rent tax credit, and more!
The best way to ensure you receive your maximum tax refund is by applying with Taxback!
Here are 6 of the most common tax reliefs which can be claimed by workers in Ireland!
1. Medical, non-routine dental and nursing home expenses
Did you know that the average Irish family spends €2,600 on medical and dental expenses, such as GP bills, physio bills and prescriptions, each year? That's a lot! But thankfully, many medical expenses are eligible for tax relief. For a medical expense to be eligible for relief, it must be carried out by a registered practitioner (such as a doctor).
Check out our complete list of medical expenses that are eligible for tax relief here.
If you have paid for eligible health expenses, you will be entitled to claim relief at the standard rate of tax - 20% (nursing home expenses can be claimed at your highest rate of tax - 40%).
In order to claim tax relief on your medical expenses you must keep all of the receipts and documents relating to the eligible expenses.
Paid medical bills?
2. Flat Rate Expenses
Many people are entitled to claim Flat Rate Expenses but miss out due to a lack of awareness of this relief.
This means that thousands of euro in Flat Rate Expense tax credits go unclaimed every year!
So, what are Flat Rate Expenses?
A Flat Rate Expense is a type of tax relief that is available to people in certain occupations. The intention of Flat Rate Expenses is to help with costs associated with work, like uniforms, tools and equipment. For example, teachers can claim €518 in expenses, shop assistants can claim €121 and members of the RTE National Symphony Orchestra can claim €2,476! Tax relief due for flat rate expenses is up to 40%, depending on the taxpayer's personal circumstances.
To see if you are entitled to Flat Rate Expenses – check the full list of eligible occupations here. What's more, if you have never claimed flat rate expenses before, the good news is you can go back and claim what you're owed from the past four years!
The average Irish tax refund is €1,880
3. Working from home tax relief
If you are one of the many people who have spent the majority of 2020 working from home, you may be entitled to e-worker tax relief. E-worker relief is a tax relief on expenses which people may incur while working from home on either a full or a part-time basis (such as heating, electricity and broadband).
Employers can pay €3.20 tax-free a day to their employees to cover the additional costs associated with working from home. However, it is not a legal obligation for employers to make this payment to their employees.
Where an employer does not pay €3.20 per day to an e-worker, the employee can instead claim a tax refund as below:
- Electricity and heat - 10% of cost of electricity and heat apportioned on the basis of the number of days worked from home over the year
- Broadband – In general, 10% of the cost of broadband is apportioned based on the number of days worked from home over the year. However, it is possible to claim 30% of the cost for the duration of the pandemic
An employee can then claim tax relief on these expenses at a rate up to 40% depending on their personal circumstances.
For example, if your electricity bill is €1,000, you are entitled to claim 10% of that, i.e. €100. You can then claim tax relief of 20% or 40% on the €100 (which would result in a refund of €20 or €40, depending on your personal circumstances).
E-worker tax relief for 2023 can be claimed in January 2024. However, if you have worked from home prior to this, you can claim e-worker tax relief for the past four years.
Find out more details here.
The average Irish tax refund is €1,880
4. Tuition fees
College can be an expensive time for both parents and students alike. There's a lot of costs associated with college, like a new laptop, textbooks, rent... the list goes on! The good news is that there is tax relief that many college fee payers – parents or students – can potentially benefit from. Third level fee payers can claim tax relief on tuition fees (including the student contribution) that are paid for eligible education courses.
You can claim tax relief on tuition fees paid for:
- Undergraduate course
- Postgraduate courses
- IT and foreign language courses
Tax relief is granted at 20% - the standard rate of tax. However, there is a limit of fees, at €7,000 per course, on which you can claim relief.
Find out more about the relief available on tuition fees here.
Download your FREE Irish Tax Guide
5. Year of marriage tax relief
If you have tied the knot in the last four years, you could be entitled to year of marriage tax relief.
In the year you're married, both you and your spouse will continue to be treated as single people for tax purposes. However, if the tax you pay as two single people is greater than the tax payable if you were taxed as a married couple, you can claim the difference as a tax refund.
Note: only tax deducted in the months after marriage can qualify for a tax refund.
See here for everything you need to know about marriage and tax in Ireland.
6. Rent Tax Credit
If you are renting your home you may be eligible to claim the Rent Tax Credit from 2022 onwards.
This credit was introduced in Budget 2023 and it is worth €500 per year for a single individual and €1,000 for a married couple.
In Budget 2024, the government announced the increase of the Rent Tax Credit to €750 for single individuals and €1,500 for married couples.
Additionally, this tax credit can be claimed by parents who pay rent for their student children living in 'digs' accommodation.
Find out more about how to apply for the Rent Tax Credit.
The average Irish tax refund is €1,880
How to claim your tax back online today!
Yes, you can claim your tax refunds directly with Revenue. However, if you are unsure of what you can and can't claim and you would like to ensure you receive your maximum refund, you should apply with Taxback.
Our team will ensure that you are submitting a claim for everything you are entitled to! We have a very simple online application process, there's no complicated forms and our team handles all of the tricky paperwork for you!
What's more, we operate a 'No Refund, No Fee' policy, so you won't lose out by applying - happy days!
With our average refund of €1,880 it's a no brainer to apply now to see if you qualify for tax relief!
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