Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
310. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance how he will ensure that all tenants are able to avail of the tax credit given that they are not responsible for landlords registering with the RTB (details supplied); if he will make certain that there are no negative impacts to tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47750/23]
View answerFinance Act 2022 introduced the Rent Tax Credit, which is provided for in section 473B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. This is an income tax credit of up to €500 per year (or up to €1,000 for jointly assessed couples) which may be claimed in respect of qualifying rent paid in 2022 and 2023. Budget 2024 increased this credit to €750 per year (or up to €1,500 for jointly assessed couples) for years 2024 and 2025. Qualifying payments must be made under a tenancy.
A tenancy for this purpose is a rental arrangement which falls into one of the below categories:1. An agreement, contract or lease which is required to be registered with the Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) under Part 7 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. Where a rental arrangement is of a type which is required to be registered with the RTB, the landlord must have complied with this registration obligation in order for the claimant to receive the Rent Tax Credit.
2. A licence for the use of a room, or rooms, in an individual's person’s principal private residence. Such rental arrangements are not generally required to be registered with the RTB under Part 7 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, and therefore availability of the Rent Tax Credit in such circumstances is not dependent on the tenancy being registered.Consistent with category 2 above, a person renting under a tenancy which is not required to be registered with the RTB is not required to provide an RTB registration number when claiming the Rent Tax Credit.Full details of the type of tenancies which must be registered with the RTB, and the process by which such registrations may be completed, can be found on the RTB website available at: www.rtb.ie
Responsibility for compliance with the legal obligation to register a tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 is a matter for the RTB, and landlords should familiarise themselves with their RTB registration obligations and ensure that they have fulfilled same. Where a tenancy is registered with the RTB, claimants are requested to provide the RTB number as part of the claim process.
Compliance with the legal obligation to register a tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) is a matter for the RTB. Unregistered tenancies may be reported to the RTB’s Registration Enforcement Unit by email to enforcement@rtb.ie.
In relation to the statement provided “less than half of tenants have claimed Rent Tax Credit” I am advised by Revenue that the Rent Tax Credit statistics currently available refer only to claims by PAYE taxpayers for the 2022 tax year and the 2023 tax year to-date. Data on claims by self-assessed taxpayers is not yet available as these taxpayers’ returns are generally submitted later in the year. The statutory filing date for the 2022 tax return for self-assessed taxpayers is 31 October 2023.
Claims in respect of the 2022 year of assessment can be made by PAYE taxpayers by submitting an Income Tax return for that year. For claims relating to 2023, PAYE taxpayers have the option of claiming the rent tax credit due to them either as rent is incurred or at the end of the year through their Income Tax return. I also would note that tax refunds can be requested within four years after the end of the tax year to which the claim relates, so it is possible that eligible persons may not claim the Rent Tax Credit in respect of 2022 until 2026.
During the Budget 2023 process, it was estimated that approximately 400,000 individual persons are eligible to claim the Rent Tax Credit for 2022. The same figure was estimated for 2023, 400,000 individuals eligible to claim.
Rent Tax Credit claims made are on a ‘taxpayer unit’ basis. A taxpayer unit is either an individual with any personal status who is singly assessed or a couple in a marriage or civil partnership who have elected for joint assessment. By this metric we would not expect to see 400,000 taxpayer units claim the credit.
Revenue is conducting an information campaign to highlight the ease of use of the online myAccount system and to raise awareness of a range of key tax credits and reliefs available to taxpayers including the rent tax credit.
I am further advised that as of 22 October 2023, 300,958 Rent Tax Credit claims have been made by 261,347 taxpayer units consisting of:
(i) 202,873 taxpayer units that made claims for 2022 only,
(ii) 39,611 taxpayer units that made claims for both 2022 and 2023,
(iii) 18,863 taxpayer units that made claims for 2023 only,
The operation of the Rent Tax Credit will continue to be closely monitored by my Department in conjunction with Revenue.
