Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 December 2023
198. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the total value of unclaimed tax, through the Revenue Commissioners for overpaid tax; the number of persons to whom this applies, for each of the years 2016 to 2022, inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53838/23]
View answerI understand the Deputy’s office has confirmed this question relates to PAYE taxpayers.
I am advised by Revenue that, where an income tax return is not completed, it is not possible for Revenue to know if a taxpayer may be due additional credits or reliefs. Therefore, it is not possible to provide the Deputy with final figures on the amount of overpaid tax as individual taxpayer circumstances differ. Some taxpayers may have overpaid tax in some years and underpaid in others and some may be entitled to additional credits or reliefs which they have not yet claimed while others may have additional income on which tax may be due.
Since 2019, Revenue makes an Employment Detail Summary (EDS) and a Preliminary End of Year Statement (PEOYS) available to all PAYE taxpayers through the myAccount service after the end of each tax year. The PEOYS sets out each PAYE taxpayer's provisional tax position for that tax year, based on information available on Revenue records. The PEOYS provides employees with a preliminary calculation of their Income Tax and USC position, and will indicate whether their tax position is balanced, underpaid, or overpaid for the year.
To assist taxpayers to balance their tax, Revenue regularly issues letters to taxpayers who according to their Preliminary End of Year Statement, may have either overpaid or underpaid tax in a particular tax year. These letters advise the recipients to submit an Income Tax return to claim any additional tax credits or reliefs that they may be due and/or to declare any additional income they may have received. These letters also remind taxpayers of a four-year time limit in respect of submitting such claims.
I am further advised that, to date, Revenue has refunded €487 million to over 825,000 taxpayers in respect of the 2019 tax year while, €441 million has been refunded to 695,000 taxpayers for 2020, €567 million has been refunded to 830,00 taxpayers for 2021, and €567 million has been refunded to 760,000 taxpayers for 2022.
To claim a refund of overpaid tax, taxpayers are required to complete an income tax return. The quickest and easiest way to do this is online through Revenue’s myAccount facility. MyAccount allows taxpayers to claim their entitlements, declare any additional income and ensure that they pay the right amount of tax at the right time.
Based on the provisional end of year position for PAYE taxpayers who have yet to submit an Income Tax return, Revenue records indicate that for 2019, €108 million is overpaid by 212,661 customers; for 2020, €93 million is overpaid by 186,000 customers; for 2021, €147 million is overpaid by 257,790 customers and for 2022, €176 million is overpaid by 308,560 customers. Equivalent figures for 2016 to 2018 are not available as these years precede the introduction of PAYE Modernisation.
It should be noted, however, that Revenue has advised that the above figures are correct as of today’s date – they are a snapshot at a point in time, however the figures will change depending on when the data is collated. Revenue further advises that the overall numbers of taxpayers may be less than the total of the above figures as some taxpayers may have overpaid tax in one or more of the years shown. Similarly, the net amount of tax overpaid may be less than the total of the figures shown as some taxpayers may have overpaid in some years and underpaid in others.
