Non-payment of NLWT

H

HarakDaily

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Hi,

I'm looking for some advice with regards the recent changes to the non-resident landlord withholding tax.

I am non-resident landlord and have an individual tenant who is deducting 20% of the monthly rent payable in order to remit it directly to Revenue. This is our agreed system as signed and noted in our tenancy agreement. Upon accessing myAccount on Revenue.ie, I cannot find this NWLT to claim it for my property, leading me to believe that it hasn't been paid by the tenant in a timely fashion.

Where does the responsibility lie here? Should I be tracking this on a monthly basis and asking the tenant to stay up to date? Should I be liaising with Revenue, or just allowing Revenue to flag it by themselves?
 
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you're exposed to potentially serious trouble here and will need robust legal advice, urgently, with a view to possible legal action against your tenant.

The bad news is that a previous finding from the Ombudsman, detailed in their 1998 Annual Report, concludes that it's unreasonable to expect a residential tenant to assume responsibility for their landlord's tax compliance obligations.

IANAL but if your tenant cites this either in seeking to breach the tenancy agreement or in court, the implications are obvious.

Hopefully it will not come to that.

In the longer term, you need to drop altogether the idea that your tenant deducts tax at source.

It's a recipe for disaster and a monument to the bovine state of tax legislation in this country.
 
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Thank you.

I am referencing recent changes to NWLT in July 2023 (sorry, I can't link) which allows for tenants to withhold 20% and make a rental notification (RN). My tenant & I have agreed to this system, and they are in no doubt that I am a non-resident. Hence, if anything, I feel that they are in breach of contract and exposed to potential legal trouble.

I'm trying to establish who is responsible for this 20% portion and am awaiting an update. In your reply, you note an avenue of potential legal action for me against my tenant. I'm thinking the action should be between Revenue and my tenant, given that the sum has been withheld from me completely.
 
HarakDaily said:
I am referencing recent changes to NWLT in July 2023
Click to expand...
So am I.
HarakDaily said:
I'm thinking the action should be between Revenue and my tenant, given that the sum has been withheld from me completely.
Click to expand...
The Ombudsman's finding from 1998 (which admittedly isn't law) provides a pretty persuasive case that Revenue's powers to pursue your tenant are at best limited. So it's likely to come back to you.
 
I think as a landlord, you have the right to ask your tenant to provide evidence of having paid the 20% to revenue, and expect a reply. Go down this road before you deal further with Revenue.

Otherwise it’s bizarre to expect tenants to act as tax collectors but unfortunately the law.
 
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