Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 February 2022
67. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance if an update will be provided on the repayment of outstanding pandemic unemployment payment and temporary wage subsidy scheme tax liabilities; the amount repaid to date; the number of persons with an outstanding TWSS or PUP tax liability for 2020 who subsequently overpaid tax in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9482/22]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) were not taxed in the normal real-time manner in 2020 and were instead taxed at year end. Where this resulted in an underpayment of tax after all tax credits and reliefs, for example health expenses, were allocated, the amount due could be collected, interest-free, over four years commencing on 1 January 2022.
As taxpayers’ liabilities may have been reduced by these additional reliefs or credits, it is not possible to quantify the exact amounts repaid that related specifically to TWSS or PUP liabilities. Revenue has confirmed that, to date, almost 300,000 PAYE taxpayers who were in receipt of TWSS and/or PUP payments in 2020 have submitted income tax returns for that year and where liabilities arose, these were settled by immediate payment, by the employer paying the amount due on behalf of the employee, or by spreading the payment over four years.
Revenue has also confirmed that there are approximately 290,000 PAYE taxpayers that were in receipt of TWSS and/or PUP payments that have not yet filed an income tax return for 2020 and who may have a tax liability for that year. As previously outlined, this liability could be reduced depending on whether there are additional credits or reliefs to be claimed.
There are also 140,000 PAYE taxpayers who were in receipt of TWSS and/or PUP payments in 2020 who may have overpaid tax, but again this cannot be confirmed until they submit their income tax returns for that year. Approximately 80,000 PAYE taxpayers that received TWSS and/or PUP payments in 2020 paid the correct amount of tax.
To date, over 480,000 PAYE taxpayers have filed their tax returns for 2021 and a small proportion of these had tax liabilities in respect of 2020, which may or may not have arisen from PUP or TWSS payments.
