# Tax refunds - make sure to claim!



## glasto (11 Jan 2011)

Can I urge everyone to apply for the tax refunds they are probably due? I always claimed my medical tax refunds, but never got round to claiming for bin charges, trade union fees etc. I knew I'd be too damn lazy to do it myself so I got a firm to do it for me, they get 12.5% of my rebate. Anyway today they called me to say I'm getting a cheque for almost 2k! I'm totally delighted, it took no time to fill in their form. Anyway, if you haven't done this you really should, I was only expecting a few hundred quid, so I'm delighted!


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## RMCF (11 Jan 2011)

What firm did this?

Was it an accountants office?


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## spreadsheet (11 Jan 2011)

But it's simple to do this on PAYE.ie
Just read down through the list of what you can claim for and if it matches your entitlements then job done.


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## mandelbrot (11 Jan 2011)

glasto said:


> Can I urge everyone to apply for the tax refunds they are probably due? I always claimed my medical tax refunds, but never got round to claiming for bin charges, trade union fees etc. I knew I'd be too damn lazy to do it myself so I got a firm to do it for me, they get 12.5% of my rebate. Anyway today they called me to say I'm getting a cheque for almost 2k! I'm totally delighted, it took no time to fill in their form. Anyway, if you haven't done this you really should, I was only expecting a few hundred quid, so I'm delighted!



The most you could possibly get back for union subs and bin charges, over the 4 years you're allowed to go back, is somewhere under a grand; I have to wonder what was the "etc" that makes up the difference?!

And I hope it was a reputable firm you used?


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## glasto (11 Jan 2011)

mandelbrot said:


> The most you could possibly get back for union subs and bin charges, over the 4 years you're allowed to go back, is somewhere under a grand; I have to wonder what was the "etc" that makes up the difference?!
> 
> And I hope it was a reputable firm you used?



Well  there was rent too, and who knows what else. The firm looks ok to me, and I'm an ex auditor.


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## spreadsheet (11 Jan 2011)

glasto said:


> and who knows what else



Did they not tell you what they claimed for?


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## Bronte (12 Jan 2011)

glasto said:


> Well there was rent too, and who knows what else. .


 
This is very vague particularly from an ex auditor. Can you not list exactly where the 2K came from to help other people. There are limits/ceilings on how much rent relief and bin charges are going to get in tax relief.

But you are right to advise people to claim all their tax refunds on time.


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## fizzelina (12 Jan 2011)

glasto said:


> Well there was rent too, and who knows what else. The firm looks ok to me, and I'm an ex auditor.


 
If you're an ex-auditor did you not also train as an accountant at the same time? And if so could you not have done the tax credit yourself on PAYE online as another posted mentioned. Anyway it's good to highlight the tax credits not enough people get their full benefits due to them.


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## glasto (12 Jan 2011)

fizzelina said:


> If you're an ex-auditor did you not also train as an accountant at the same time? And if so could you not have done the tax credit yourself on PAYE online as another posted mentioned. Anyway it's good to highlight the tax credits not enough people get their full benefits due to them.



Yes of course I could have done it myself online, I'm sure its a piece of cake However in four years I'd never got round to it and figured I probably never would, so thought 12.5% was a small price to pay. Yes I used a reputable firm, I won't name them as I don't want to be accused of advertising. I'd prefer not to give an exact breakdown of the figures, it just included all the usual, rent, medical expenses, bin charges, trade union fees and so on, and I claimed for my husband as well. I just wanted to nudge people to say that if you can't be bothered doing it yourself, then there is another way, and it might be worth your while!


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## glasto (12 Jan 2011)

spreadsheet said:


> Did they not tell you what they claimed for?



Yes of course they did.


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## glasto (12 Jan 2011)

fizzelina said:


> If you're an ex-auditor did you not also train as an accountant at the same time? And if so could you not have done the tax credit yourself on PAYE online as another posted mentioned. Anyway it's good to highlight the tax credits not enough people get their full benefits due to them.



I qualified in the UK 15 years ago, I know zilch about the Irish Tax system, I never worked in Ireland as an auditor.


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## Claire1956 (12 Jan 2011)

Glasto, you're very patient to come back with such polite replies to the responses made to your post.  Thanks for the advice and I will look into doing something similar.


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## Protocol (12 Jan 2011)

Claiming all your tax credits is simple.


You can do it by:

phone
SMS
walking-in to a tax office
online
There is no need to pay anybody.


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## glasto (12 Jan 2011)

Protocol said:


> Claiming all your tax credits is simple.
> 
> 
> You can do it by:
> ...



No, there is no need to pay anyone. But if you are a lazy bugger like me, you might find it easier to get someone else to do it for you.


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## gearoid (12 Jan 2011)

*tax allowances*

Hi,
Yes indeed it pays to be informed about reliefs.

I read a post here last year on askaboutmoney about claiming pension relief on PRSI and health levy contributions.

I'm afraid I hadn't realised I could claim this on my self-employed PRSA.

As I had maximised contributions at the 41% band I got several thousand back in tax, which was nice!!

I also made sure to maximise my 2010 contribution before the December 31st so I hope to get this allowance in respect of 2010 contributions as well.

It's all downhill from there I guess due to budget pension tax relief changes.

Regards,
Gearoid


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## Sue Ellen (12 Jan 2011)

Isn't the trade union fee allowance gone by the wayside in the recent budget?


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## callybags (12 Jan 2011)

It is from 2011 onwards but can still be claimed for 2010 and previous years ( back to 2006 I think)


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## allthedoyles (12 Jan 2011)

There are approx 1.1 million paye taxpayers in Ireland and it is a well known statistic that only around 10% ask  for balancing statement each year .

That is a lot of paye taxpayers not claiming their correct entitlements .

Don't ask me for the source - ask www.revenue.ie


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## remey (12 Jan 2011)

claire1956 said:


> glasto, you're very patient to come back with such polite replies to the responses made to your post. Thanks for the advice and i will look into doing something similar.


 
+1

I'm a lazy bugger too.


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## mandelbrot (12 Jan 2011)

Protocol said:


> Claiming all your tax credits is simple.
> 
> 
> You can do it by:
> ...



+1

To the "lazy buggers", I think the point here is that it doesn't require any less work on your part, even if you pay someone else to apply for the refund. You still have to fill in a form or hand over the information, to someone, so it doesn't really make any sense to pay a substantial % of your rebate unnecessarily...


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## glasto (12 Jan 2011)

mandelbrot said:


> +1
> 
> To the "lazy buggers", I think the point here is that it doesn't require any less work on your part, even if you pay someone else to apply for the refund. You still have to fill in a form or hand over the information, to someone, so it doesn't really make any sense to pay a substantial % of your rebate unnecessarily...



I filled in a form in less than five minutes, it was just name address, pps number, and tick what you wanted to claim. The only other thing I had to do was get a printout of my medical expenses from my doc and chemist. Maybe it is as easy to do it online, but I looked online a few times and it looked more complicated, if I'm wrong I stand corrected. Anyway, I kept meaning to do it but didn't get round to it. Once I received the form to fill in the company I used phoned me to nudge me along, which I found helpful The way I look at it, its costing me a couple of hundred quid to get £2k back that I know I wouldn't have got otherwise. Your mileage may vary. I haven't told anyone else that this is the only way to do it, but at least two people on here, and three of my RL friends have found this information useful. One of my friends had no idea she could claim any of this stuff and would certainly not have done it off her own bat, so this is certainly a worthwhile service for some people. She rents, pays bin charges and has medical expenses, but is not an Irish native, so did not know these things were claimable If she gets a nice lump sum in these difficult times I will be delighted. I did tell her she could claim easily herself, but she said she wouldn't feel confident doing it herself Not everyone is confident or knowledgable enough to do this stuff!


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## Bronte (13 Jan 2011)

glasto said:


> I filled in a form in less than five minutes, it was just name address, pps number, and tick what you wanted to claim. The only other thing I had to do was get a printout of my medical expenses from my doc and chemist.so this is certainly a worthwhile service for some people.
> 
> Not everyone is confident or knowledgable enough to do this stuff!


 
You do have a very good point there.  Why don't you name the company that did it for you,  I'm sure there are others on here that would like to know.


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## Lilly2099 (13 Jan 2011)

I would also reccommend doing your own claims online on ww.paye.ie once you get your useraccess its a simple and efficient way to claim and in these times not paying a firm to do this even if it is only a 12.5% is still a saving every cent counts!


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## NHG (13 Jan 2011)

*PRSI and Income Levy Rebates*

How do you go about claiming back *PRSI* and *Income Levy  Rebates*, I work in wages department and a few my fellow employees are due these refunds but it could'nt be done through payroll at the end of the year as they had not worked the full 52 weeks due to short-time.

Where do they write to.

Thank you.


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## dody (13 Jan 2011)

*balancing statement*

I sent in med1 and got bal statement back. I now owe them €500! I am a PAYE worker so they did calculations wrong


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## elcato (13 Jan 2011)

> I sent in med1 and got bal statement back. I now owe them €500! I am a PAYE worker so they did calculations wrong


who got it wrong ? Your payroll department or revenue ? I presume you underpaid tax during the year and the balancing statement uncovered this ? The only way to check is by having your final paycheck to hand and adding the relevant figures to the tax calculator. Make sure and check the figures your self though and don't take revenues word for it till your happy that they are not omitting anything.


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## boaber (13 Jan 2011)

NHG said:


> How do you go about claiming back *PRSI* and *Income Levy  Rebates*, I work in wages department and a few my fellow employees are due these refunds but it could'nt be done through payroll at the end of the year as they had not worked the full 52 weeks due to short-time.
> 
> Where do they write to.
> 
> Thank you.



For Income Levy rebates, complete this form & return to Revenue [broken link removed]

For PRSI rebates please see here http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/prsi_refunds.aspx


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## dody (13 Jan 2011)

thanks will do - dont know who made error - bal statement just uncovered it like you said. I am a teacher so would be dept of edu doing payroll. hard to get straight ans from that dept about anything


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## allthedoyles (13 Jan 2011)

dody said:


> I sent in med1 and got bal statement back. I now owe them €500! I am a PAYE worker so they did calculations wrong


 
Another reason why people use professional help .

The paye tax system can be quite complicated for paye employees , that are not familiar with it.

Since the introduction of tax credits to replace tax-free-allowances , it has become even more complicated .

Even the on-line paye-anytime is not user friendly .

It generalises the credits into two categories :
1. flexible credits 
2. shared credits .

Even professionals have difficulties determining where credits are allocated


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## NHG (13 Jan 2011)

Boaber, thank you.


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## boaber (13 Jan 2011)

No worries.  I found the form (PRSIREF1) they will need to complete & return to *DSP*: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Forms/Documents/prsiref1.pdf

If the want to claim a refund for PRSI paid in respect of Pension Contributions then they will ned to complete this form & return to *Revenue *[broken link removed]


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## Lamps (13 Jan 2011)

I paid my brothers college fee's for this and last term, a total of 7k. I heard i may be able to claim some tax relief on this? But i cant find the option on the PAYE anytime.

Anyone know if i can do this and how I go about it?


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## Olympian (13 Jan 2011)

Lamps said:


> I paid my brothers college fee's for this and last term, a total of 7k. I heard i may be able to claim some tax relief on this? But i cant find the option on the PAYE anytime.
> 
> Anyone know if i can do this and how I go about it?



Don't know if it's available via PAYE Anytime.

I downloaded and completed the application form from this site.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it31.html

The college / course must be approved. There is a file of such courses at above link.


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## mandelbrot (13 Jan 2011)

Lamps said:


> I paid my brothers college fee's for this and last term, a total of 7k. I heard i may be able to claim some tax relief on this? But i cant find the option on the PAYE anytime.
> 
> Anyone know if i can do this and how I go about it?



+1 Olympian

Also, even if the course is an approved one, it is specifically only the Tuition Fee element that is allowed for tax relief, not registration etc...


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