best way to sort out tax arrears with revenue?

Hi,

I bought a property in 1999 and rented it out. I had no income as expenses equaled income. Sold this property in 2004 and paid the CGT on sale. Bought apartment in 2001 and have it rented out. For both these properties I never made any return to revenue. I want to make returns now and settle up any monies owed, if any. What is the best thing to do? Do I make an appointment to see somebody in the revenue? Do I just process the info myself and give it to local tax office? Would I need an accountant? Will I omit the first property as it is now sold and all CGT has been paid on it? Any advice would be appreciated.

You should get an accountant or tax advisor to give you professional advice on the situation. Do this as a matter of urgency.

In my own opinion (I am a practising accountant) you should not in any circumstances approach Revenue for them to sort it out - if they insist in applying the letter of the law, you could find yourself in a very difficult position as you will not exactly be in an ideal negotiation position - at least until the net tax position is quantified. Don't be tempted to attempt a DIY job or to omit anything - if incorrect or incomplete returns are filed and noted as such by the Revenue, you could be facing additional difficulties.

Have to agree with that advice - get an accountant to help you do the returns. Even if your income equalled outgoings you are still meant to file a return so technically you're seven years behind. An accountant will help you deal with Revenue so get in touch with one asap.

Anybody know a good tax consultant or accountant in the Dublin area that might assist me in making these returns ? What sort of rates do they charge?

Definitely get an accountant before you even talk to Revenue.

We own a house in Ireland and during our period abroad we rented this out. At the time (by Irish tax advisor) I was told that I would not have to make returns while resident in the U.S. and we declared rental income in the U.S. only. From what I have been reading recently, it sounds as if we should have been doing returns here also. We certainly weren't trying to evade tax and as there's a tax agreement between Ireland and the U.S. that would have meant that we wouldn't have been double taxed. I'd like to follow up with revenue and was going to approach them directly. Any comments on this ?? Should we go through tax advisor ?? As our previous experience with Irish tax advisor was not up to scratch (information re returns was inaccurate, actual return they did for us one year had figures incorrect and medical insurance figures going in incorrectly until I double checked), so I'd prefer to deal with revenue directly, but now I am concerned from reading above post. Any comments ??

If your tax liabilities are not clear to you or your situation is a complex one then I would strongly recommend that you seek the advice of a tax adviser.
The Irish Taxation Institute has a list of members. If you try a couple of them and explain your situation they should be able to advise you what they can do for you and estimate the cost.

The link below has a list of Tax Institute members.

Thanks for that - I appreciate the pointer.

suicra05 said:

Anybody know a good tax consultant or accountant in the Dublin area that might assist me in making these returns ? What sort of rates do they charge?

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I use Kieran to do my yearly return (self employed), I switched to him a few years ago after I have build up arrears and helped me out of a mess. You can mention that I referred you for what it's worth. He'll be happy to give you a quote.

Kieran Desmond,
Clifford Desmond & Associates,
Chartered Accountants,
Registered Auditors.

32 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2.
tel: +353 (0)1 7088400
fax: +353 (0)1 7088401
email: kieran@clifforddesmond.com