# Staycation Tax Break scheme



## odyssey06

Starting a thread for the 'staycation' tax break to be filled in as more details available.

Covers 'hotels' and food bills in restaurants\pubs etc but not drinks.
Kicks in from September until... next Spring?
Is it only 'hotels' or would B&Bs, holiday homes be covered also?
What about someone holding a wedding in a hotel, would room costs be covered or catering?

What % of the cost is available as a tax rebate? Based on VAT?
What if you don't pay tax i.e. retired folks.

Questions questions...

_*Mods *- please move to main AAM forum if you think it is more suitable there given its Tax aspect._


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## faketales

Would seem unfair if B&B are not eligible especially as they may be better value for people. I understand that hotel may support more jobs but the optics would make it seem like it was just to support big business hotel groups. 

Although I imagine a lot of families are renting holiday cottages etc. The line gets blurred here, some would be booked through hotel, while others might be on their own website or even Airbnb. 

Can't imagine someone who doesn't pay tax could be entitled to a refund. 

I like the idea of giving the break directly to the customer and the hotel etc not being able to control it. Otherwise it's just included in cost.


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## odyssey06

Some more details in the Independent:
* Runs September - April
* Still only mentions hotels and restaurants - though I would think anyone on the VAT hospitality rate would qualify?
* Hotels, food and non alcoholic drinks
* Maximum claim €625 per person
* 20% relief
* e.g. a couple could get €250 back if they spend the max sum each


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## odyssey06

Update it runs October to April.


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## fayf

It will be triggered via a Revenue app, (per LV on Prime Time)just like, one does with VHI/Laya medical cost receipts. I assume once receipts are approved, a tax credit increase is actioned, and it flows to the individual via reduced PAYE on payroll


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## odyssey06

fayf said:


> It will be triggered via a Revenue app, (per LV on Prime Time)just like, one does with VHI/Laya medical cost receipts. I assume once receipts are approved, a tax credit increase is actioned, and it flows to the individual via reduced PAYE on payroll



Actually I think I usually get the medical receipts refund as a direct bank transfer, I think you are right about the mechanism though.


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## odyssey06

Another further question - the dates span two tax years.
Will we be able to claim the max amount in both years?


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## fayf

Thats a very good question, i wouldn’t think relief will be given, twice, over the 2 tax years,  i would assume its a rolling total, as a one off relief, and once total is reached it will cease. The Revenue app will control this so, i would think its a “onetime” relief, but will need to wait for final operational details over next month or so.


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## allaround

only applies through businesses registered with Failte Ireland for staycation tax breaks


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## faketales

While it's branded as a staycation tax break it sounds like this could be used as a 20% rebate on eating out for 8 months. It works out as 78euro a month per person. While this is more than I spend it might not be too far off the spending of others especially those with children.


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## fayf

It looks like, the credit will only be given, after the end of the tax year, so if one spends the max in 2020, the €125 max refund, will be given early in 2021, as a balancing item from the 2020 tax year


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## christopher..

Is this tax relief from October to April? 

Can you include receipts for July and August for short stays or should it be a 1 week holiday for example in Ireland.


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## odyssey06

christopher.. said:


> Is this tax relief from October to April?
> 
> Can you include receipts for July and August for short stays or should it be a 1 week holiday for example in Ireland.



October to April.

Haven't heard anything about duration of stay, as long as it is Failte Ireland registered.


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## fayf

odyssey06 said:


> October to April.
> 
> Haven't heard anything about duration of stay, as long as it is Failte Ireland registered.


No, there is not any duration of stay, and don’t forget, you don’t have to stay over somewhere, to avail of the relief, the majority of people are going to avail of this by just going out for a meal- at a restaurant which has registered for the scheme of course. Some restaurants may decide - not to participate, or, may not have a tax clearance certificate

New Revenue app, should be launched in the coming weeks, which will allow easy upload of receipts, i would imagine it will work like the Health Insurance apps, (VHI & Laya etc)where you logon to the app, and upload photos of your receipts


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## fayf

Revenue have a section where you can check if the hotel/restaurant/pub is registered, in advance of spending, nothing listed at this time, so its a work in progress



			https://www.ros.ie/stay-spend-web/rev/sas


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## fayf

Some businesses appearing on it now, very few so far


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## losttheplot

Can you only search one county or Dublin postcode at a time?


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## roker

How does it work if you do not pay tax? will they credit you4 with a refund?


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## fayf

roker said:


> How does it work if you do not pay tax? will they credit you4 with a refund?


No, if you don’t pay any taxes, this is not applicable to you. This is a reduction on what state taxes you pay, so it excludes those not paying any, not saying its right or wrong, but them is the rules of the scheme.


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## fayf

losttheplot said:


> Can you only search one county or Dublin postcode at a time?


So, it appears. I suppose,  as there could be potentially, thousands of establishments registering,  in the county of Dublin, it could be a bit awkward to find anything, if you had to scroll through hundreads of pages.
At least there is sector and sub category, to narrow your search.

This operational rule, could cause logistical issues for establishments, i’m thinking of medium sized groups, all getting, individual bills.

“The itemised breakdown should enable the qualifying and non-qualifying expenditure to be clearly identified.
Where a bill is split between two or more customers, each customer should receive an individual receipt. This receipt should show the share of expenditure incurred by each customer.“






						Stay and Spend Scheme
					

information on the stay and spend tax credit as announced in the July Stimulus




					www.revenue.ie
				





Non qualifying expenditure, would be alcoholic beverages for example


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## roker

roker said:


> How does it work if you do not pay tax? will they credit you4 with a refund?


thanks, my pension is under the taxable limit, it seem a bit discriminatory


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## fayf

roker said:


> thanks, my pension is under the taxable limit, it seem a bit discriminatory


It probably does, the same policy applies to Medical Expenses claims for tax relief, if you don’t pay taxes, there is zero benefit.

one option, is to find someone who is paying taxes, dine out with them, and they claim the credit, split the proceeds.


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## odyssey06

The Stay and Spend Scheme, which was launched today, aims to help drive sales in the hospitality sector during the off-season. It will run from 1 October to 30 April.
The scheme will provide a maximum of €125 in income tax credits to taxpayers who spend up to €625 in restaurants, pubs, hotels, B&Bs and other qualifying businesses, from autumn 2020 through to spring 2021, including over the Christmas period.
Where a taxpayer has insufficient income tax liability to fully benefit from the measure, *they may still avail of the relief against their USC contributions*.








						Taoiseach says hospitality sector was among worst affected by Covid as he launches tax credit scheme
					

A new scheme will provide a maximum of €125 in income tax credits to taxpayers who spend up to €625 in the hospitality sector.




					www.thejournal.ie


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## odyssey06

Further details that there is a minimum spend of €25 per individual transaction:

“In line with the minimum spend threshold, each taxpayer must have incurred expenditure of at least €25 in each individual transaction in order to include it in his or her claim. As such, if the total bill is €80 and it is split equally between four customers, none of them will be able to include this cost in their claim for the ‘Stay and Spend’ tax credit as they will not have incurred expenditure of at least €25 each in relation to that transaction.”








						How will the government's 'Stay and Spend' scheme work and how can you claim your tax credits?
					

Taxpayers can claim back 20% of their spend on food and accommodation as a tax credit.




					www.thejournal.ie


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## Purple

roker said:


> thanks, my pension is under the taxable limit, it seem a bit discriminatory


Is that because of the increased tax free allowances you get as a pensioner?


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## roker

Purple said:


> Is that because of the increased tax free allowances you get as a pensioner?


No.  there is no increase tax allowance, it's because my total taxable income (pension) is below the taxable limit


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## Purple

roker said:


> No.  there is no increase tax allowance, it's because my total taxable income (pension) is below the taxable limit


Okay, I thought it might be the much lower PRSI and the additional tax credits for those over 65.
At least you won't have to pay for the Bus to or from the Restaurant   and if you get food poisoning you can use your medical card


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## fayf

A very poor uptake of registrations, so far. One would think hotels, at least,  would be well organised, as people plan ahead for stays, but the majority are not registered yet, maybe, there is a backlog of registrations, which are pending approval by Revenue.

It does not cost anything to be registered, just a requirement, to have a valid tax clearance certificate.



			https://www.ros.ie/stay-spend-web/rev/sas


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## fayf

Apologies, my error, there is a page selector at the bottom of the page, that i missed completely, very good take up all over the country.


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## TTI

Does anyone know if you can claim against GroupOn Hotel purchases from the 1st of October? I couldn't see any details but I imagine Booking.com would be covered (which can have their own discounting / margins) so there shouldn't be a difference?


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## Leo

TTI said:


> Does anyone know if you can claim against GroupOn Hotel purchases from the 1st of October?



If it's not in the list, it's not covered. Your receipt will need to be issued directly by the registered establishment, so the likes of GroupOn will not be allowed. Booking.com might work where you have the option to pay on-site rather than pre-pay. The terms providers need to comply with are detailed in the Revenue guide.


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## fayf

This also means that websites that charge non refundable deposits for hotel stays, like Supervalu, Lidl Breaks, Today FM breaks etc, that part of the cost is ineligible, as it is only the bill from the establisment, is valid for claims, which would exclude such deposits.


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## fayf

Have been uploading receipts for this on the Revenue Receipts Tracker APP,  i notice there is no verification of whether an restaurant/hotel is actually a registered for the scheme, which i thought was odd.


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## imalwayshappy

Hi,

If I pay in full for a holiday based in Ireland now but go on holiday in July can I avail of this credit? Thanks


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## odyssey06

imalwayshappy said:


> Hi,
> If I pay in full for a holiday based in Ireland now but go on holiday in July can I avail of this credit? Thanks



I'm going to say no, because your receipt will likely have July date so could be iffy if audited.


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## fayf

Completed tax return, and we got just over a grand in for 2020 tax return, managed to get in two hotel breaks between lockdowns, and a good few meals out.

As expected, to date, stay and save tax credit claims have been far short of expectations, due to xmas lockdown, so i expect the deadline to be extended by several months, as most people were not in a position to avail of this scheme.


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