Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 October 2023
205. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 432 of 11 September 2023, when the facility to set up a repeat rental notification at monthly intervals, including an instruction for remitting the NLWT to Revenue directly from the tenant's bank account, will be implemented. [46657/23]
View answerThe non-resident landlord withholding tax regime, referred to by the Deputy, whereby tenants deduct and remit to Revenue withholding tax at the standard rate of income tax (currently 20%) from rental payments to a landlord who lives outside the State, has been in operation for many years, however, some changes were introduced in last year’s Finance Act.
The relevant legislation provides that tenants of a non-resident landlord, and other parties paying rent directly to a non-resident landlord, such as local authorities, are required to deduct and remit to Revenue withholding tax from payments made directly to that non-resident person. This includes payment into a bank account in the landlord’s name, even if the bank account is within the State.
The withholding tax to be deducted is 20% of the gross rental payments, with no account taken of any expenses such as allowable interest or any other costs. The tenant (or other person making a direct payment) must also provide the non-resident landlord with a certificate of the tax deducted on the Form R185 (Certificate of Income Tax Deducted).
Finance Act 2022 amended the existing withholding tax system for those making payments directly to non-resident landlords, requiring them to provide Revenue with certain information regarding the landlord, the rental property, and the rental payment. As part of this new system, instead of completing a Form R185, tenants of non-resident landlords will complete a “rental notification” (RN) and remit the tax deducted online using ROS or MyAccount, using the new “non-resident landlord withholding tax” (NLWT) system.
I am advised by Revenue that the required developments to its online systems, to allow for repeat rental notification at monthly intervals from the tenant’s bank account, have been completed and are undergoing final testing. Revenue expects to release this functionality within the next fortnight.
