Rent a room relief query

I'm seeking any opinions on whether 'rent-a-room' relief applies in the following scenario. I believe it does but could be missing out on something. I'm also unsure whether 'joint assessment' or 'separate assessment' is an issue.

A married couple, presently jointly assessed, are faced with one spouse needing to relocate to another location for work purposes. This relocation could be for 3 years or more.

• Would the above relief apply if the couple jointly purchased a 2 bedroom property in the new location, with the 'relocating spouse' living in the property for the greater part of the year? To provide evidence that the 'relocating spouse is actually residing there during the year, the utility bills etc for the property would be set up in that person's name and new address.
• The second room would be rented out and the annual rent would be under the €14000 annual limit.
• Anyone know if it would it be necessary to go for separate assessment instead of joint assessment so that the 'relocating spouse' is the claimant?

I've read the 13 page PDF at https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-profe...ains-tax-corporation-tax/part-07/07-01-32.pdf. I can't see anything immediately problematic from a tax perspective (plenty of other potential pitfalls) but welcome any observations.

I don't think this will fly.

They can rent a room in their jointly owned property at the 'home' location and avail of the tax relief.

IANATE (I Am Not A Tax Expert)

Thanks for the quick response. I am wondering about the following point regarding the following definition of a 'qualifying residence' per the above PDF:

The room or rooms must be in a residential premises situated in the State that is
occupied by an individual as his or her sole or main residence during the particular
tax year. An individual may live in more than one residence but can only avail of
rent-a-room relief in respect of his or her sole or main residence. In general, an
individual’s sole or main residence is that individual’s home for the greater part of
the time and where friends and correspondents would expect to find him or her.
The individual does not have to own the residence and it could, for example, be
occupied as rented accommodation.

In the outlined scenario (relocating spouse is going to be in the new premises for at least 3 years for work), would the second premises not qualify? It seems to tick the emphasised points.

I read the same and I can't see why the spouse can't have this new place as main residence if he/she lives there mostly and work there. Do spouses need to have the same residence to be assessed jointly?
Ianate either.

azerty said:

I read the same and I can't see why the spouse can't have this new place as main residence if he/she lives there mostly and work there. Do spouses need to have the same residence to be assessed jointly?
Ianate either.

Click to expand...

What do Revenue do for couples that are separated and live in different homes? Could you change to individual assessment for the three years.

It must be your PPR. Thats not a PPR thats a second home. A PPR is where you would be ordinarily found'
Dont think its a runner.

If they work in this new place and spend the majority of their time there, why could this not be there place of residence? They are couples where one spouse works abroad and is considered as non resident in Ireland for tax purposes as long as they spend a certain number of days abroad.

Once again, AAM is not a suitable forum fo find any sort of technical query like this one, the answer to which might will ultimately depend on a legal eagle's reading of how various pieces of legislation and case law are worded in relation to each other.

Another option - take in a Ukrainian refugee & claim the accomodation allowance.