IFF taxation consultation thread (2 Viewers)

[classic seanc]

do you mean apportion tax credits for 2007 in 2008?

This would get messy as the agencies involved would be in the middle of doing all their PAYE returns

the thing i would advise to do is come february when you recieve all the P60's from the agencies. contact the revenue and apply for a refund, if any, of the taxes owed

alos another thing to do is if you are renting a flat, claim this on tax (it's allowable) and any medical expenses or bin charges at the same time if you have any

of course, it'd really suck if you owed the revenue tax and not the other way round. hopefully this is not the case

I see...that would really mess up ones cash flow.

It's all hypothetical really for me. Much appreciated IFF.

why can't it be easy ffs.

The tax office will help if you call and tell them your FFS number.

 

[todd_landers]

Dear IFF,

If I had two different employers in one year (and had been fired by one of them) do they both need to provide me with a P60?

When do employers usually issue P60s?

 

[IFF]

Dear IFF,

If I had two different employers in one year (and had been fired by one of them) do they both need to provide me with a P60?

no. the employer which you left/fired should issue you a P45 upon leaving

It is only employees who work there at the end of the year who would get a P60

When do employers usually issue P60s?

i got mine today . you should get a P60 before 15th February

 

[todd_landers]

Danke!

 

[classic seanc]

Oh, hi IFF.

Tell me, what's the story with reclaiming medical expenses? I read somewhere that this was possible, like, I tell the tax people I went to the GP twice this year, and they give me back the money. but now I can't find the info.
Is this right? What do I need to do this? Can I claim stuff for previous tax years also?

Thanks.

 

[classic seanc]

Oh wait,
http://www.revenue.ie/

Health / Medical Expenses Relief

• Introduction
• What Medical Expenses Qualify for Relief?
• Who can I claim Medical Expenses for?
• How Do I Claim?
• When is Relief Given?
• Expenditure which Qualifies for Relief
• Dental Treatments Which Qualify For Relief
• What Treatments do not qualify for relief?

Introduction

You may claim tax relief on certain unreimbursed medical expenses incurred by you for yourself and/or your qualifying dependants.
You cannot claim relief for any expenditure, which has been or will be reimbursed, for example by Quinn-healthcare, the VHI, VIVAS Health, the Health Service Executive or where a compensation payment is made or will be made.
For tax year 2007 onwards there is no longer any disallowance of the first €125 (or €250 for spouse and dependents).


What Medical Expenses Qualify for Relief?

Most medical expenses, with the exception of routine dental and ophthalmic care, qualify for relief. A list of the main expenses that qualify for relief is given at Expenditure which Qualifies for Relief.
A list of the expenses which are regarded as routine and do not qualify for relief are at What Treatments do not qualify for relief?
If you have a query regarding any medical expense which is not listed, you can phone your Regional Revenue office whose LoCall number is listed at Further Information.


Who can I claim Medical Expenses for?

You can claim Medical Expenses incurred by you:

• On your own behalf
• On behalf of a dependant. (A dependant is any relative of yours or any other person who at any time during the year of claim is aged 65 years or over or who is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical infirmity.)
• On behalf of a relative. A relative is defined as:
  • Husband, wife, ancestor, lineal descendant, brother or sister
  • Mother or father of your spouse
  • Brother or sister of your spouse
  • Spouse of your son or daughter
  • Your child, Any other child, who in the year of the claim, is in your custody and maintained at your expense and under 18 years of age, or if over 18 years of age, is receiving full-time education.

How Do I Claim?

Tax relief can be claimed after 31st of December of the year of claim.
You can now claim Medical Expenses over the Internet by logging on to our PAYE Online Service.
Alternatively you can complete a Form Med 1

(PDF 87KB) at the end of the tax year and send it to your Regional Revenue office. You should also send in evidence of payment of tax for that year (Form P60 in the case of a PAYE employee - both Forms P60 in the case of both spouses working and taxed under Joint Assessment).
There is no need to submit receipts with your claim, but only expenditure for which you hold receipts can be claimed. If you are claiming dental expenses a completed Form Med 2 should be obtained from you dental practitioner. These receipts and Form Med 2

(PDF 107KB) must be retained for a period of 6 years as you may be asked to produce them if your claim is chosen for detailed examination.
When is Relief Given?

You can choose whether you want the relief given for the year in which the payments were made or for the year in which the expenses were incurred.
Example:
A hospital stay in December 2004 cost €635. €380 was paid in December of 2004 and €255 was paid in May of 2005.
You can claim relief in either of the following ways:

1. €635 (less €125) in the tax year 2004 or
2. €380 (less €125) in the tax year 2004 and
   €255 (less €125) in the tax year 2005

The relief is granted at the highest rate of tax at which you are chargeable for the year of claim.
If your subscription year for medical insurance (VHI, Quinn-healthcare, VIVAS Health, etc.) does not coincide with the tax year you may submit your claim based on the subscription year. Expenses in the subscription year will be treated as having been incurred in the calender year in which the subscription year ends. However, claims for subsequent tax years must also be based on your subscription year.
Expenditure which Qualifies for Relief

• Costs of doctors and consultants fees Items/treatments prescribed by a doctor/consultant (see below)
• Items/treatments prescribed by a doctor/consultant (see below)
• Maintenance or treatment in a hospital or an approved nursing home [ Note 1]
• Costs of speech and language therapy carried out by a Speech and Language Therapist for a qualifying child [Note 2]
• Transport by ambulance
• Costs of educational psychological assessments carried out by an educational psychologist for a qualifying child [(Note 3] (allowable from 6 April 2001)
• Certain items of expenditure in respect of a child suffering from a serious life threatening illness
• Kidney patients' expenses (up to a maximum amount depending on whether the patient uses Hospital Dialysis, Home Dialysis or CAPD)
• Specialised Dental Treatment - see below
• Routine Maternity care
• In-Vitro Fertilisation

The following, where prescribed by a doctor, qualify for medical expenses relief:

• Drugs and Medicines
• Diagnostic procedures
• Orthoptic or similar treatment
• Hearing aids
• Orthopaedic bed/chair
• Wheelchair/wheelchair lift (no relief is due for alteration to the building to facilitate a lift)
• Glucometer machine for a diabetic
• Engaging a qualified nurse in the case of a serious illness
• Physiotherapy or similar treatment
• Cost of a computer where it is necessary to alleviate communication problems of a severely handicapped person
• Cost of gluten-free food for coeliacs. As this condition is generally ongoing, a letter (instead of prescriptions) from a doctor stating that the individual is a coeliac sufferer is acceptable. Receipts from supermarkets in addition to receipts from chemists are acceptable.

Where qualifying health care is only available outside Ireland, reasonable travelling and accommodation expenses can also be claimed. In such cases the expenses of one person accompanying the patient may also be allowed where the condition of the patient requires it.
Dental Treatments Which Qualify For Relief

Bridgework

Dental treatment consisting of an enamel-retained bridge or a tooth-supported bridge is allowable.
Crowns

These are restorations fabricated outside the mouth and are permanently cemented to existing tooth tissue.
Tip Replacing

This is regarded as a crown where a large part of the tooth needs to be replaced and the replacement is made outside the mouth.
Veneers/Rembrant Type Etched Fillings

These are a form of crown.
Endodontics - Root Canal Treatment

This involves the filling of the nerve canal and not the filling of teeth.
Gold Inlays

These are a smaller version of a gold crown. (Only allowable if fabricated outside the mouth).
Gold Posts

These are inserts in the nerve canal of a tooth, to hold a crown.
Orthodontic Treatment

This involves the provision of braces and similar treatments.
Periodontal treatment

• Root Planing - a treatment of periodontal (gum) disease.
• Currettage and Debridement - part of root planing.
• Gum Flaps - a gum treatment.
• Chrome Cobalt Splint - if used in connection with periodontal treatment. (If it contains teeth, relief is not allowable).
• Dental implants following treatment of periodontal (gum) disease, which included bone grafting and bone augmentation.

Surgical Extraction of Impacted Wisdom Teeth

Relief is allowable when undertaken in a hospital, or by a dentist in a dental surgery. Certification from the hospital/dentist will be required to obtain tax relief. The removal of teeth in any other circumstances does not qualify.
What Treatments do not qualify for relief?

• Routine Dental Care

Tax relief is not available for the cost of scaling, extraction and filling of teeth and the provision and repair of artificial teeth and dentures.

• Routine Ophthalmic Care

Tax relief is not available for the cost of sight testing, provision and maintenance of spectacles and contact lenses.

But does that mean that the cost of a GP visit can be refunded or not??

 

[IFF]

Oh wait,
http://www.revenue.ie/




But does that mean that the cost of a GP visit can be refunded or not??

yes, doctor visits are refundable as a tax credit as long as total medical bills (doctor, drugs, allowable dentist bills etc) are above €125, the excess above €125 is allowable. so if you had medical bills of €250. you can claim relief on €125 of the costs.

though it would not be a refund of €125 i think. it'd be a refund of (€125*20% or 125*41 depending on your tax rate)


fropm the example from the revenue page, may i point out one thing

When is Relief Given?

You can choose whether you want the relief given for the year in which the payments were made or for the year in which the expenses were incurred.
Example:
A hospital stay in December 2004 cost €635. €380 was paid in December of 2004 and €255 was paid in May of 2005.
You can claim relief in either of the following ways:

1. €635 (less €125) in the tax year 2004 or
2. €380 (less €125) in the tax year 2004 and
   €255 (less €125) in the tax year 2005

in this example, i would reccomend claiming all the relief on tax in 2004. with option 1, you get relief on €510. In option 2, you get relief on €255 for 2004 and €130 in 2005, a total of €385. Therefore by claiming all in 2004, you are better off

and another point

• Routine Ophthalmic Care

Tax relief is not available for the cost of sight testing, provision and maintenance of spectacles and contact lenses.

according to the optician in Ardee, if you have so many prsi weeks, you can claim the cost of a sight test for €20 and the cost of the lenses of glasses for €49 or €45

so if you bought lenses for €45, frames for €50 and a sight test, in theory, all you need to pay for is the frames. if you have enough prsi weeks. if you were like me last december when i finally had my eyes tested (a friend will attest to me being blind as a bat since 2000 when i was in secondary school in german class and we sat bewside each other - he was the only other male in the class )

did i answer any question here?

 

[classic seanc]

Yeah that's rapid.
I'm gonna have to do some rummaging for receipts now. I may be back to ask how best to claim whatever I have.

 

[IFF]

Yeah that's rapid.
I'm gonna have to do some rummaging for receipts now. I may be back to ask how best to claim whatever I have.

for prescriptions, the pharmacy might be able to print you out a report that would suffice

 

[snakybus]

Hey IFF, I'm a contractor, and this other contractor where I work says you have to put in for 13.5% in addition to your income tax for "services", i.e., because contractors are providing a service rather than a product. Like you have to include an extra 13.5% on your invoice to the company so that you don't have to pay it yourself. Sounds like a bunch if hooey to me, or that it would apply if you were a registered company or sole trader or whatever, as opposed to just a self-assessed contract worker. I've been contracting on and off for a few years now, am I gonna get done for this if I get audited?

 

[IFF]

Hey IFF, I'm a contractor, and this other contractor where I work says you have to put in for 13.5% in addition to your income tax for "services", i.e., because contractors are providing a service rather than a product. Like you have to include an extra 13.5% on your invoice to the company so that you don't have to pay it yourself. Sounds like a bunch if hooey to me, or that it would apply if you were a registered company or sole trader or whatever, as opposed to just a self-assessed contract worker. I've been contracting on and off for a few years now, am I gonna get done for this if I get audited?

it depends.

the threshold for providing services is €35,000 per year from January 2007 (before this it was €25,500). so if you're receipts were less then 35,000, you'd be fiine.

of course, if you are under €35,000, you could also opt to be VAT registered but you aren't obligated to be

 

[Johnnyc]

I've got to pay my own taxes for the first time ever and I've registered on-line to do so, but is there anywhere I can use a free on-line income tax calculator first so I can see what the damage is gonna be?

 

[IFF]

this is the ros offline application link - http://www.ros.ie/PublisherServlet/info/install

install the ros offline and then you can download the form 11. from here, you can input the data necessary for the form 11 aqnd it comes out with the liability due

don't forgot to pay preliminary tax for the current year. this is 100% of the tax liability of 2007.

if preliminary tax is not paid, the revenue can charge interest on the amount the actual liability for 2008, not just what should have been paid.

you can upload the completed form 11 to the revenue site. though they have updated the form 11 application on it but the general consensus at work is that it's not as good as before

 

[classic seanc]

http://www.thumped.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=63048

I'm out of my depth here, help plz.

 

[RSJ]

Dear IFF

I worked until the end of september last year. I filled out one of them tax rebate form things (so i could get some tax back) and the lady asked where i was going. I said i was off to japan to teach the english, though in the end, i never.

After a while of hearing nothing, the father's accoutant rang them, and they said cos i was off working, i'd get nowt until the end of the tax year. He explained that i in fact wasn't working or intending to before the end of the tax year, so gizza. They said hmmmm, then... Silencio.

So it's june now and i've still seen no money off them. I've tried ringing, but it's a "touch one to get through to a menu" style nightmare and i don't have the time/money for that kind of thing.

Anything i can do to move this forward?

Yours,
Taxed intensive.

 

[CitySickness]

Dear IFF,

Is there a really stupid person's guide to the Irish taxation system? Y'know, like you'd explain it to a particularly slow 5-year-old? I'm mostly PAYE with a dollop of freelance, so I need to fill out my own returns but I'm a total dolt and understand none of it.

Yours in Christ,
Form 11, Wits 0.

 

[IFF]

Dear IFF

I worked until the end of september last year. I filled out one of them tax rebate form things (so i could get some tax back) and the lady asked where i was going. I said i was off to japan to teach the english, though in the end, i never.

After a while of hearing nothing, the father's accoutant rang them, and they said cos i was off working, i'd get nowt until the end of the tax year. He explained that i in fact wasn't working or intending to before the end of the tax year, so gizza. They said hmmmm, then... Silencio.

So it's june now and i've still seen no money off them. I've tried ringing, but it's a "touch one to get through to a menu" style nightmare and i don't have the time/money for that kind of thing.

Anything i can do to move this forward?

Yours,
Taxed intensive.

you definately should have heard back within 5 weeks. from my experience that's the revenue estimate from the recorded message
personally, you'd be calling the lo-call number for paye (1890 333 425), when the guy starts naming out the particular options, as he starts the list, you say "None of these" this will put you through to an actual person. it might take 4 or 5 minutes but there's a message that says when they expect to answer the call and while you wait, you get to listen to some classical music

Dear IFF,

Is there a really stupid person's guide to the Irish taxation system? Y'know, like you'd explain it to a particularly slow 5-year-old? I'm mostly PAYE with a dollop of freelance, so I need to fill out my own returns but I'm a total dolt and understand none of it.

Yours in Christ,
Form 11, Wits 0.

this is an ok resouce i feel - http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/money-and-tax/tax/income-tax/how_your_tax_is_calculated

i'll se3e if i can get a better one for you tomorrow

 

[IFF]

Also for those who file VAT returns and PAYE returns here, please note, according to ACCA Ireland, one company has reported getting a notice of demand for ate filling of tax returns the day after the return was due

this of course means that the purse strings are tight in government offices

 

[La La]

hi IFF!!!

i'm a dunce when it comes to tax.

i work regularly for two newspapers - but on a freelance basis which is great as I don't want to have to sign any contracts. the shit thing is that with regard to tax, I have to take care of things myself because the Revenue see me as 'self employed'.

because I only copped on to this, I need to start setting aside $$$ for my end of year tax bill. because I invoice and am paid by two seperate companies, do I need to set aside 20% of each payment, or combine the two and set aside 20% of that?

also, I got some yoke in the post at the end of last year about tax credits - am I eligible to apply for them? I'm afraid I'm not even that sure what they are but I get the feeling they mean I can get some money back.

thanks again dude.

 

[IFF]

hi IFF!!!

i'm a dunce when it comes to tax.

i work regularly for two newspapers - but on a freelance basis which is great as I don't want to have to sign any contracts. the shit thing is that with regard to tax, I have to take care of things myself because the Revenue see me as 'self employed'.

because I only copped on to this, I need to start setting aside $$$ for my end of year tax bill. because I invoice and am paid by two seperate companies, do I need to set aside 20% of each payment, or combine the two and set aside 20% of that?

if i understand what you're asking, it'd be 20% of the combines income

although if you're setting aside 20% of each payment, it's be the same amount you'd set aside

i should also note that there is also a health contributiona nd prsi on top of this. this comes to 5% i think. so in fact, it should be 25%

also, I got some yoke in the post at the end of last year about tax credits - am I eligible to apply for them? I'm afraid I'm not even that sure what they are but I get the feeling they mean I can get some money back.

thanks again dude.

yes you can get the single person allowance of €1,830 (if you're married it's double of €3,660 though this is shared between the spouses so in fact it's only still €1,830 if both are working) so in essense this means that the first €9,150 is exempt

there's other credits you can claim like refuse charges and rent credit and these would lower your tax burden also

there's also expenses that can be claimed. in accounts work, we would include a person's motor expenses as a cost. when it comes to the tax return, we usually do an add back of 33%. sometimes it's 50%.

is 2008 your first year as a self employed person? if it's your second i think you also will have to pay preliminary tax for 2008 along with tax for 2007

preliminary tax is 100% of the previous years income (so in thory you double up). i've seen revenue sent out demand notices for alot of money in interest for not paying a few thousand in preliminary tax (i can't go into details)