Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 April 2013
172. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if she will state the present procedures which a citizen in receipt of a social welfare payment must declare such income for taxation purposes; if there are different arrangements in place for different social welfare payments in respect of the declaration of income; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18896/13]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that, in general, an individual with taxable income is obliged to file a tax return and pay tax under the Self Assessment system. The tax return should be used by the individual to declare all of their income sources, including payments from the Department of Social Protection (DSP). This obligation to file a tax return does not generally apply to an individual where all of that individual’s income, including payments from the DSP, is taxed under the PAYE system. In the case of a person taxed under the PAYE system, they are obliged to notify the Revenue Commissioners of any other source of income, including benefit payments from the DSP. That notification can be made in writing or the person can contact one of Revenue’s PAYE lo-call numbers with the details.
A person’s particular circumstances determine whether they are liable to pay tax on any DSP payments. For example, they may have no other sources of income and therefore are unlikely to be liable for tax on their DSP payments. However, regardless of the type of DSP payment involved the person should still notify the Revenue Commissioners to ensure that they have no other obligations. Similarly, increases or decreases in the amount of payment made by the DSP should be notified to Revenue. I am further informed that while there are significant data exchange arrangements in place between Revenue and the DSP, it is still the recipient’s responsibility to notify Revenue that they are receiving payments from the Department.
