tax liability on rental income

J

James J

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For the past 3 years I have earned about €1,500 p.a. from renting land which I own in Ireland but have not yet declared this as income over this period. I intend to do so and wonder if any one has any idea what my liability would be , would there be penalties? Also, I do not work/live in Ireland and do not have any other income arising there and therefore I do not pay any form of tax there. Does this complicate my position?

I would be grateful for any advice you could offer.
 
Hi Rainyday,
I am resident in Belgium and have been for the past two years.
 
And are you being paid/taxed in Belgium?

Note that I won't be able to answer your question, as it is beyond my expertise, but I expect that other posters may be able to help once you provide full details.
 
Hi Rainyday,
Yeah, I live and work in Belgium and pay tax here.
I have not worked in Ireland for about two years; it was a part-time position (about four weeks around Christmas). Before that (between 1997 and 2001) I also worked on a part-time basis while I was at college.
 
Lucky you, ! Your tenant owes the Revenue Commissioners [broken link removed] of all rent paid to you. The tenant has the responsibility to withhold 20% of the rent and remit it to the Revenue Commissioners (bad for you because the tenant must also supply your PPS number and Belgian address). Revenue will then review why you have not filed an Irish tax return and look to heavily fine and penalise you.<!--EZCODE BR START--><!--EZCODE BR END--><!--EZCODE BR START--><!--EZCODE BR END-->Good luck with that!
 
house in Ireland and living in US

Hi - I have a query around this . I have a house in Ireland that has been rented out to tenants the last 4 years (since we moved away). The first year we submitted tax returns in Ireland and the U.S. Since then we do the U.S. only (declaring all rental income from Ireland.) Are we supposed to be submitting tax returns in Ireland also ? As there's a tax treaty I thought that declaring in the U.S. was sufficient .. Any comments ?
We were under the impression that was sufficient as we were non-resident but the original tax firm I work with the initial year weren't great .

Anyone know of a good way to find a tax advisor in Ireland that can work with non-residents regarding property etc ?
 
Re: house in Ireland and living in US

Hi everyone

Yes, non-residents who have Irish rental income are specifically obliged to file Irish income tax returns each year in respect of the rents received and pay whatever tax is owing.

There is a provision in the tax code which obliges tenants to deduct standard-rate tax from rents paid to non-resident landlords and pay this to Revenue. The Revenue have encountered significant difficulties in implementing this rule in practice - after all tenants (particularly residential tenants) are not always in a position where they can ask a landlord about their tax affairs and according to some there is an inherent natural injustice in the idea of a tenant being liable for tax bills incurred by their landlord.

As a result of these difficulties, there is now a requirement on non-resident landlords to nominate someone resident here as a "collection agent" to collect rents on their behalf (directly or indirectly) and to ensure that 20% tax (calc on the gross amount of such rents) is deducted and paid to the Revenue.

These arrangements may sound complicated but are in practice relatively straightforward. In many cases the landlord can claim a substantial refund of the tax deducted after the end of each tax year.

James and DublinAmerica, both of you should now address this situation by filing tax returns here to declare your rental income for previous years. You will also need to follow the required procedures regarding appointment of a collection agent etc for the future. Get professional advice on this if you need it. If you deal with this properly and swiftly, the prospect of Revenue penalties might be avoided.

(btw, my own firm has considerable experience in this area, if you want to email or PM me please do so.)
 
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