Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 February 2024
162. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the estimated amount of unclaimed tax reliefs in each of the years 2019 to 2023; and a breakdown of the estimated amount by individual relief, that is, medical relief, rent relief, disabled child relief and so on, in tabular form. [5816/24]
View answerI assume that the Deputy’s 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 an estimated amount of unclaimed tax reliefs in each of the years requested. 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 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. The letters also remind taxpayers of a four-year time limit in respect of submitting such claims. The quickest and easiest way to submit an income tax return 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.
I am further advised that, to date, Revenue has refunded €493 million to 839,000 taxpayers in respect of the 2019 tax year while, €444 million has been refunded to 708,000 taxpayers for 2020, €574 million has been refunded to 853,000 taxpayers for 2021, and €586 million has been refunded to 801,000 taxpayers for 2022. A further €300 million has been refunded to 400,000 taxpayers for 2023.
Based on the current provisional end of year position for PAYE taxpayers who have yet to submit an Income Tax return for the last 4 years in which a refund may be claimed, Revenue records indicate that, for 2020, €86 million is overpaid by 174,000 customers; for 2021, €133 million is overpaid by 236,000 customers; for 2022, €154 million is overpaid by 278,000 customers and, for 2023, €331 million is overpaid by 499,000 customers.
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, based on the figures available to Revenue, and 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.
Finally, I can advise that Revenue, in conjunction with my Department, recently launched a public information campaign to raise awareness among PAYE taxpayers about the range of tax credits and reliefs available, and how they can claim those credits and reliefs.
