Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 July 2019
190. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of persons who requested a P21 balancing statement from the Revenue Commissioners; the refunds issued to, and additional tax collected from, persons, respectively, as a result in each of the years 2010 to 2018, in tabular and aggregate form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30928/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra191. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners will automatically issue the refund due to a person in a situation in which a person would be entitled to a refund of tax overpaid in a calendar year but does not request a P21 balancing statement or put in a claim for an income tax refund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30929/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 190 and 191 together.
Regarding Question 30928-19, the following Table sets out the number of End of Year Statements (P21) that issued to PAYE taxpayers for the years 2010 to 2018.
|
Tax Year |
Total Issued |
Value of Underpayments € |
Value of Overpayments € |
|
2010 |
1,073,269 |
112,362,206 |
431,694,623 |
|
2011 |
1,061,964 |
109,910,663 |
394,277,683 |
|
2012 |
1,072,789 |
94,338,124 |
414,924,792 |
|
2013 |
1,195,805 |
94,997,953 |
452,814,621 |
|
2014 |
1,249,281 |
93,096,365 |
435,823,238 |
|
2015 |
1,268,908 |
95,532,756 |
442,929,189 |
|
2016 |
1,157,251 |
144,908,919 |
455,118,798 |
|
2017 |
1,022,044 |
86,638,895 |
445,213,087 |
|
2018 |
684,617 |
97,242,451 |
354,661,317 |
It is important to note that the ‘value of overpayments’ amounts in the Table include various tax reliefs such as health expenses and tax relief on nursing home fees. For example, in 2016, the most recent year for which complete data are currently available, 454,700 taxpayers received tax relief on health expenses at a cost to the Exchequer of €131 million and 6,800 taxpayers received tax relief on nursing home fees, at a cost of €33 million.
Regarding Question 30929-19, I am advised by Revenue that prior to the commencement of PAYE Modernisation on 1 January 2019 (2019 tax year onwards) the practice was that an End of Year Statement (P21) only issued on request from a taxpayer or where a taxpayer completed a Form 12 tax return. The approach ensured the taxpayer record was fully up to date prior to the P21 Statement being generated and avoided the possibility of an overpayment or underpayment being incorrectly reflected.
The commencement of PAYE Modernisation means that Revenue is now receiving real-time pay and statutory deductions information from employers/pension providers for their employees/pension recipients on or before each pay date. The availability of such real-time data will allow Revenue to automatically provide preliminary End of Year Statements to all employees/pension recipients each year, for example, the End of Year Statements in respect of 2019 will be available in early 2020.
The End of Year Statement will include the pay, tax and Universal Social Charge (USC) information for each employment/pension, as reported by the employer/pension provider, and will indicate if an over-deduction or under-deduction of tax and USC has occurred. The availability of the End of Year Statement will encourage taxpayers to claim any additional tax credits or reliefs, such as health expenses, or to declare any additional incomes, which can be done by completing a pre-populated Form 12 tax return. Once a taxpayer confirms that the End of Year Statement is correct, a P21 Statement will issue and any overpayments will be automatically refunded.
Revenue’s innovative use of real-time information to streamline and simplify the PAYE process ensures that taxpayer records are fully up to-date and all employments, pensions, incomes, credits and entitlements accounted for before a final review is conducted and a P21 issued. It is hoped this simplified facility will encourage taxpayers to claim their entitlements and ensure as far as possible, that they pay the right amount of tax at the right time.
Finally, I commend Revenue for the very significant improvements it has made to the PAYE system and the efforts it has made to simplify the tax system for citizens.
