# VHI Question



## chippie1974 (1 Feb 2008)

Sorry as this is probably covered elsewhere but wondering if someone could help me out on this. My VHI is paid by the company I work for and for the last 2 years I have been paying the BIK, but not claiming the credit. I have now copped this and need to resolve for 2006 and 2007. 

I remember that you always claimed the VHI relief a year in arrears, is that still the case. My policy runs from 01/04/07 to 01/04/08, do I claim that relief in 07 or 08. I can then work backwards.

Many thanks in advance as I cannot find the guidlines now that its deducted at source in most cases.


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## ClubMan (1 Feb 2008)

I have claimed the credit in advance based on the expected gross premium for the coming year. If there is any discrepancy (e.g. due to a premium hike mid tax year) then I sort it out via _PAYE _online or else at the end of the year via a _P21 _balancing statement.  Actually from 2008 you should be getting it automatically via your tax credits as far as I know - check them online or when you get your statement of tax credits and if it does not appear then let _Revenue _know what the expected gross premium for 2008 will be.

You should backdate claims for the credit for the past couple of years too.


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## chippie1974 (2 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> I have claimed the credit in advance based on the expected gross premium for the coming year. If there is any discrepancy (e.g. due to a premium hike mid tax year) then I sort it out via _PAYE _online or else at the end of the year via a _P21 _balancing statement. Actually from 2008 you should be getting it automatically via your tax credits as far as I know - check them online or when you get your statement of tax credits and if it does not appear then let _Revenue _know what the expected gross premium for 2008 will be.
> 
> You should backdate claims for the credit for the past couple of years too.


I am about to backdate for 2006 and 2007, I am just wondering what year do I claim for as such. My VHI runs to the 31st march so I assume I claim in 07 for the policy that ended 31/03/07, for 08 for the policy ended 31/03/08 etc if that makes sense. 

I got my allowances for 2008 and the VHI is not on it, going to amend all this as soon as my self service pin arrives


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## ClubMan (2 Feb 2008)

chippie1974 said:


> I am about to backdate for 2006 and 2007, I am just wondering what year do I claim for as such. My VHI runs to the 31st march so I assume I claim in 07 for the policy that ended 31/03/07, for 08 for the policy ended 31/03/08 etc if that makes sense.


You claim against 2007 whatever gross premiums were paid on your belalf in 2007. Likewise for 2008. The fact that your _VHI _premium year is out of sync with the tax year is irrelevant. What matters is what premiums were paid on your behalf during the tax year.


> I got my allowances for 2008 and the VHI is not on it, going to amend all this as soon as my self service pin arrives


I thought that they were granting this automatically now. Maybe they're not. Or maybe your employer has not remitted the required info. Either way just correct it online when you get access.


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## Johnboy45 (3 Feb 2008)

when you get the pin number for PAYE on line service, you can't claim the VHI on it here.  You have to write to Revenue separately.


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## ClubMan (3 Feb 2008)

It used to be possible. I definitely changed my details in this respect in the past few months. I think somebody here mentioned that it was removed recently? The system is unavailable right now so I can't check...


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## Johnboy45 (3 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> It used to be possible. I definitely changed my details in this respect in the past few months. I think somebody here mentioned that it was removed recently? The system is unavailable right now so I can't check...


 

Did tax return only last week and rang Revenue to see where VHI went in.  They took it off the system cos apparently "everyone and anyone was claiming BIK relief and you're only entitled to relief if employer pays".


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## ClubMan (3 Feb 2008)

I presume they mean that people who were paying private health insurance premiums themselves and getting relief at source saw the option and thought that they should fill it in again online or something? I.e. confusion rather than a concerted attempt by people to defraud _Revenue_?


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## InfoSeeker (4 Feb 2008)

I posted a very similar query on this a few weeks ago & have still not being able to claim my 20% credit on the gross premium that my employer pays on my behalf for VHI.

I have called Revenue and they stated that in order to get this credit then I need to get a letter from my employer stating the amount of the premium they pay on my behalf, their registration# and my staff# or payroll#.

This is a reasonable request to the fair so am simply waiting on my employer to write this letter for me

I also have a claim going back for 4yrs with my previous employer as they did not handle the VHI payment correctly which could be a big issue for them. Again Revenue need the same information but having difficulty getting it from my employer as the person who handled these payments in the past has left the company.

My previous employer deducted 20% at source and then I was charged BIK on the net premium & did not get a credit, in essence the employer took my credit. As stated above this could be a costly error by my previous employer, the following article from this months Irish Tax Review (see example 1) is exactly how they handled the VHI premium.

Hmmm cannot work out how to add an attachment, is this possible?


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2008)

InfoSeeker said:


> I have called Revenue and they stated that in order to get this credit then I need to get a letter from my employer stating the amount of the premium they pay on my behalf, their registration# and my staff# or payroll#.
> 
> This is a reasonable request to the fair so am simply waiting on my employer to write this letter for me


Just write it yourself (the details should be readily available to you) and then ask somebody with signature authority for the company to sign it. Ditto for the other letters that _Revenue _need perhaps?


> Hmmm cannot work out how to add an attachment, is this possible?


No - you can link to articles though.


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## InfoSeeker (4 Feb 2008)

Good idea Clubman re writing the letter for this year as I know the Gross Premium for the year.
For previous employer, I only know the BIK they paid in 2007 so am hoping they will be able to do this for me.

I only have a hardcopy of the article so I scanned it & was going to attach it.
Therefore no possible to link it as they are published online, ie I do not have a url for this.


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2008)

InfoSeeker said:


> Good idea Clubman re writing the letter for this year as I know the Gross Premium for the year.


Presumably their registration number is their _PPSN _and this and your payroll number should be readily available to you from your payslips or other documentation. The letter will obviously need to be on headed paper. But if you at least do it up in Word meaning that it just needs to be reviewed and signed then it might expedite the process.


> For previous employer, I only know the BIK they paid in 2007 so am hoping they will be able to do this for me.


The private health insurance amount subject to _BIK _should be on your payslips. If this was (mistakenly) the net premium then you can easily gross it up.


> I only have a hardcopy of the article so I scanned it & was going to attach it.
> Therefore no possible to link it as they are published online, ie I do not have a url for this.


It's probably copyright so posting the scanned version might be in breach of the posting guidelines anyway.


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## InfoSeeker (4 Feb 2008)

Thanks on all 3 counts.

Ya I will gross up the figure for 2007 and hope to get a response from previous employer re 2004/2005/2006

Most worrying aspect is that the accountant of the previous employer believes he has handled this correctly, ie reducing gross premium by 20% and then applying net premium to me. I have not pointed out this error as of yet as I want to try & get the letter from him or from HR. I will let them know as soon as I process my claim for a refund.

It is a good reason to always examine your documentation and not assume that it will be accurate - I would have fallen into the latter category up till now


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2008)

InfoSeeker said:


> Most worrying aspect is that the accountant of the previous employer believes he has handled this correctly, ie reducing gross premium by 20% and then applying net premium to me.


Tell me about it - I've had several incidents like this over the years with company accountants who were doing payroll erroneously...





> It is a good reason to always examine your documentation and not assume that it will be accurate - I would have fallen into the latter category up till now


... which is why I always check my payslips, _P60s_, statements of tax credits etc. very carefully.


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## Johnboy45 (4 Feb 2008)

got my balancing statements for 3 yrs today AND A CHEQUE for the VHI BIK which hadn't been claiming previously.  Letter I wrote to Revenue was accepted on home address letterhead, my PPS number and actually, not a mention of employer on it at all.  Maybe different revenue offices/regions have different requirements!!!


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2008)

Maybe _InfoSeeker _should just do the same - personal letter with all the relevant details - and see what happens? That is what I have normally done in similar situations and it always worked.


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## InfoSeeker (4 Feb 2008)

I will definitely try this, tks for the replies on this.


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## chippie1974 (4 Feb 2008)

Johnboy45 said:


> when you get the pin number for PAYE on line service, you can't claim the VHI on it here. You have to write to Revenue separately.


Great just as I get the pin and my details now I have more to do 

Guess its just a matter of doing a return in full, never claimed the waste relief either so may as well do it all in one.

Can you still get the 2008 VHI in this years allowances, or do you have to wait with proof as such?


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2008)

Just write to _Revenue _with the relevant details (e.g. your _PPSN_, employer's _PPSN_, expected gross premium for 2008 etc.) and they should sort it out.


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## z103 (13 Feb 2008)

I've spent much of the morning ringing revenue 'helplines' trying to apply tax credits. I've finally emailed them.

They just bounce you from one 'helpline' to the next.



> Just write to _Revenue _with the relevant details (e.g. your _PPSN_, employer's _PPSN_, expected gross premium for 2008 etc.) and they should sort it out.


How quaint! - I'll just find my quill.


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## ClubMan (13 Feb 2008)

Nothing anachronistic about writing a letter and, in my experience, it's more official and is much more likely to get attention.


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## InfoSeeker (13 Feb 2008)

I sent out a letter today claiming Healthcare Tax Credit for 2008 & also to claim the credit for the previous 4 yrs as I had not claimed it.

I will let everyone know how I got on as soon as I get a response.


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## InfoSeeker (11 Mar 2008)

Got a cheque in the post yesterday & I was correct in that my previous employer was handling the VHI BIK incorrectly, I received a chque for over 600 euro

There are at least 50 people who would have worked for the last 4 yrs for the same company & there is little chance that they have realised this so a lot of people are entitled to a nice refund.


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