Ireland Tax Refund FAQs

Yes. If you are self-employed in Ireland, such as a consultant, architect or construction subcontractor, you must file your taxes through an annual tax return called a self-assessment tax return. You are required to declare all your earnings and any other income you get and this information will be used to work out how much tax you have to pay.

The tax office usually issues your self-assessment tax return each year when the tax year finishes. If you receive one you must fill it out even if you don't think you had self-assessable income. You must file your tax return and pay your taxes by October 31st or you will face a surcharge and interest on any money owed.

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

The self-assessment system in Ireland applies to all self-employed people and is used to report income or capital gains, or to claim tax allowances against your tax bill. It is called self-assessment because you are responsible for making sure the details you provide are correct and ensuring that 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 will need to fill it in with full details of all taxable income and gains you received in the year, and you can claim allowances on it as well. It must be filed and all tax paid by October 31st following the end of the tax year. Interest of just under 10% per annum is charged on all late payments of tax.

Filing your own self-assessment tax return can be very confusing and complicated. Register online today and let taxback.com sort your Irish tax affairs out for you.

The tax year in Ireland is from January 1st to December 31st. As a self-employed worker you will receive your self-assessment tax forms at the end of the tax year and must file them and pay all your taxes by October 31st or you will incur interest and surcharges.

As part of your self-assessed tax return, we claim for any allowances and work-related expenses you are entitled to. If you are due a refund the amount of your refund will depend on your earnings and expenses.

Register now for our self-employed in Ireland tax return service.

Yes, if you are 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 information and leave thousands of Euros worth of tax refunds unclaimed.

To claim business expenses the expense must have been incurred in order to earn your profits. We can claim back money on many of your work-related expenses including:

• Wages, rent, rates, repairs, lighting and heating, etc
• Running costs of vehicles or machinery used in the business
• Accountancy fees
• Work tools
• Protective clothing
• Buying machinery
• Repair and maintenance of work equipment

To claim back your expenses we'll need your receipts and records of your 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 a range of business 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 can secure refunds from 41 countries. Visit our dedicated VAT refund website for more information website for more information.

If you're self-employed in Ireland, you are 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 your taxes through a self-assessment tax return each year and declare all your income
• You must pay tax on the profits you make during the tax year

Taxback.com takes the stress out of preparing your annual self-assessed tax return. Here's how our simple process works:

1: Register online and then download our TaxPack for Irish tax returns. Sign and send these forms to us with your invoices and receipts etc.

2: We'll prepare your tax return and estimate your refund.

3: We file your tax return and if you're due a refund, we transfer it straight to you as soon as we receive it from the tax office.

Yes. Rental income is any income from lettings and it can be from a house, flat, factory, office etc. Individuals must pay tax on profit arising from rental income.

The tax due on rental income must be filed 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 total allowable expenses are more than rents received. Allowable expenses include insurance, ground rent, electricity/heating, repairs, advertising for tenants, mortgage interest if registered with PTSB, etc.

It is very important to keep all records of rental income such as receipts, invoices, bank and building society statements, cheques stubs etc.

Taxback.com can file your Irish self-assessment tax return for you. Register today.

If you've paid qualifying health and dental expenses during the tax year, such as doctor's visits or laser eye surgery not completely covered by your VHI/Bupa/Vivas or insurance provider, taxback.com can claim tax relief on these expenses for you.

Examples of medical expenses:

• Costs of doctors' and consultants' fees
• Items and treatments prescribed by a doctor/consultant such as drugs and medicine, hearing aids, physiotherapy, wheelchairs, diagnostic procedures, orthopaedic treatments
• Hospital treatment
• Laser eye surgery
• Speech and language therapy
• Transport by ambulance
• Maternity care

Examples of dental treatments:

• Bridgework
• Crowns
• Veneers
• Root canal treatment
• Surgical extraction of wisdom teeth

To claim tax relief on all your expenses you must keep your receipts and document the total expense paid so that you can claim back all that you are entitled to.

If you pay charges on bin or water services you may be able to claim tax credits of up to €400. Qualifying services are those paid to local authorities for domestic water supply, refuse collection and sewage disposal. To be eligible you must have paid your charges on time and in full in the year you wish to claim for.

Taxback.com can claim your service charges back.

If you've paid subscription fees to a Trade Union you may be eligible for up to €70 of trade union subscription relief. To be eligible you must be a member of a qualifying trade union so make sure you know the name of the union and the amount you paid so we can get it back for you.

We will provide you with a personal, secure TaxTracker ^® account which allows you to follow the progress of your application online.

As soon as we receive your tax refund from the tax office we contact you to organise the fastest and most convenient way to transfer it to you.

We also have our team of tax experts available 24/7 through our Live Chat instant messaging facility so you can get 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 for you.

In Ireland, everyone must pay Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions from your earnings. PRSI is made up of social insurance and health contributions. The social insurance part goes to social insurance funds to pay for social welfare and benefits in Ireland. The health contribution part goes to the Department of Health and Children to help fund health services in Ireland.

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

RCT (Relevant Contracts Tax) is a tax system where the principal contractor deducts 35% tax from payments to subcontractors for whom they do not have a relevant payments card.

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

If you are a subcontractor without a C2, you will receive an RCT Deduction Certificate, known as Form RCTDC, from your principal contractor when you get paid. You will need your RCTDCs from each of your employments during the tax year to claim a refund of this tax.

A C2 is a certificate of authorisation issued to you as a subcontractor by the tax office if you apply and qualify for one. The C2 is a personalised card with your photo and signature and it allows principal contractors to apply to the tax office for a payments card for you. This will mean the 35% RCT tax will not be deducted from your earnings and you will need to pay your taxes through a self-assessment tax return at the end of the tax year.

To be eligible for a C2 you must:

• Be a subcontractor working in the construction, forestry or meat processing industries
• Trade from a fixed place of business
• Have a satisfactory tax record for the last three years

No, but we do guarantee to get you the most money back that we legally can.

Our estimate of your tax refund is based on your documents and our experience in filing thousands of tax returns. Once we have filed your tax return the Irish tax authority has the final decision in your tax refund based on their systems and tax codes.

When our tax technicians prepare and file your return, they check for any allowances or benefits you could get and ensure we apply for the maximum rebate possible.