Irish self-assessed
tax service

If you’re self-employed in Ireland, perhaps as a consultant, architect or construction sub-contractor, you’re legally obliged to declare any income you receive on an annual self-assessed tax return. This information will be used to work out how much tax you should pay.

You should also file a self-assessed tax return if you earn income from other sources such as:

• Rental income
• Investments
• Foreign income/foreign pensions
• Income from share options/share incentives
• Maintenance payments where civil partnerships are dissolved
• Other income not subject to PAYE

For those who have registered, the tax office will issue your self-assessed tax return forms at the end of the tax year. If you receive one you must submit it, even if you had no self-assessable income.

You must file your return and pay your taxes by 31 October or you may face a surcharge and interest on any money owed.

NOTE: Even if you worked only part of the year as self-employed and were PAYE the rest of the time, you still need to file a self-assessed tax return.

The self-assessment system in Ireland applies to all self-employed people and is used to report income, capital gains or claim tax allowances against your tax bill. It’s called self-assessment because you’re responsible for making sure the details are correct and ensuring you pay the right amount of tax – even if you don’t actually work out the tax yourself.

When you get your self-assessment forms at the end of the tax year, you’ll need to provide details of all taxable income and gains you received in the year. This form will also allow you to claim allowances on it as well.

Filing a self-assessed tax return can be confusing and complicated.

Register online today and let Taxback sort your Irish tax affairs out for you.

You must file your return and ensure all tax is paid by 31 October following the end of the tax year. If paying and filing using ROS, Revenue’s online system, the due date is extended to mid of November. The tax year in Ireland runs from 1 January-31 December.

Surcharge of 5%-10% will be due if you file your tax return late. In addition, interest at 0.0219% per day will be charged for late payment of your tax liability.

It depends. As part of your self-assessed tax return, we’ll claim for any allowances and work-related expenses you’re entitled to. Your tax refund will depend on your earnings and expenses.

Yes, if you’re self-employed in Ireland you can claim back business-related expenses. Expenses can significantly reduce your tax liability and are a vital part of your tax return. Many people forget to include this and leave thousands of euros worth of tax refunds unclaimed.

To claim, the expense must be directly related to earning your profits.

Examples include:

• Wages, rent, rates, repairs, lighting and heating, etc.
• Running costs of vehicles or machinery for the business
• Accountancy fees
• Work tools
• Protective clothing
• Buying machinery
• Maintenance of work equipment

Note: Remember to keep your receipts and records of income and expenditure.

VAT is a tax levied on the supply of goods and services in EU and many non-EU countries which may add between 5% and 25% to your expenses.

If your company does business abroad you may be entitled to recover VAT on expenses including:

• Trade fair and conference costs
• Meals and accommodation
• Business entertainment
• Travel and transport costs
• Telecommunications
• Advertising and promotional costs
• Printing materials and stationary

Our international VAT reclamation service provided by our sister company, Taxback International, can secure corporate VAT refunds from 41 countries.

If you’re self-employed in Ireland, you’re responsible for your own tax and PRSI.

This means:

• You must register with your local Revenue Office as self-employed
• You must pay and file taxes through a self-assessed tax return each year
• You must pay tax on profits you make during the tax year

Taxback takes the hassle out of preparing your tax return.

Here’s how it works:

• Simply register online with Taxback
• Tell us about your income and expenses for the year
• We’ll then prepare your tax return and estimate your result
• Finally, we will file your fully compliant tax return with Revenue

Yes. Rental income is any income from lettings and can be from a house, flat, factory, office, etc. You must pay tax on any profit arising from rental income and declare it under the self-assessment system.

Rental profit or loss is calculated in terms of the total receipts to which the person becomes entitled in any tax year. A rental loss occurs when the total allowable expenses are more than the rents received.

Allowable expenses include insurance, ground rent, electricity/heating, repairs, advertising for tenants, and mortgage interest if registered with PTSB, etc.

NOTE: It’s very important to keep all records of income, such as receipts, invoices, bank and building society statements, cheque stubs, etc.

Yes, our Landlord Tax Return service will provide you with a dedicated Account Manager and make sure you don’t miss the annual tax deadline for declaring rental income.

If you’ve paid qualifying health and non-routine dental expenses during the tax year not covered by an insurance provider, Taxback can claim tax relief on these expenses for you.

Examples of qualifying medical expenses:

• Doctor and consultant fees
• Prescriptions from a doctor/consultant such as drugs and medicine, hearing aids, physiotherapy, wheelchairs, diagnostic procedures, orthopaedic treatments
• Hospital treatments
• Laser-eye surgery
• Speech therapy
• Ambulance fees
• Maternity care

Qualifying non-routine dental treatments:

• Bridgework
• Crowns
• Veneers
• Root canal treatments
• Surgical wisdom teeth extraction

Don’t forget to keep your receipts!

Since 1 Jan 2012, tax relief for service charges has been abolished.

No, as this relief was abolished on 1 January 2011.

We’ll give you a personal, secure online account to follow the progress of your application online.

We’ll also provide 24/7 support through our Live Chat service so you can have your questions answered anytime.

Once you send us your documents and signed forms, we’ll evaluate your case and let you know how much it will cost to file your self-assessed tax return.

In Ireland, everyone must make Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions on relevant earnings. PRSI is made up of social insurance and health contributions.

Social insurance goes to social insurance funds to pay for social welfare and benefits in Ireland. The health contribution goes to the Department of Health and Children to help fund health services in Ireland.

As a self-employed worker, you’re responsible for your own PRSI contributions and must pay through the self-assessment tax system.

RCT (Relevant Contracts Tax) is a tax system where the principal contractor deducts tax at either 0%, 20% or 35% from payments to subcontractors, depending on the tax status of the subcontractor.

RCT applies to construction, forestry, and meat processing operations and only when the principal contractor and subcontractor operate in the same industry.

Revenue now operates an electronic RCT system, which was introduced on 1 January 2012.

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