Tax return mistake

Hi . I sent in a tax return recently to the tax office and reckoned I was owed €56 but they have sent me a cheque and balancing statement for a refund of €526. I can see where they made their mistake. My honest part wants me to let me know but they put me through the mill last year over another mistake that they made which they had difficulty in accepting. As it is a balancing statement, will the error ever be noticed ?

Caught. They sent me a letter today demanding the money back or my tfa would be changed.

harvey said:

Caught. They sent me a letter today demanding the money back or my tfa would be changed.

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don't seem to have a problem spotting an error when we owe them..

jhegarty said:

don't seem to have a problem spotting an error when we owe them..

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The chances are the refund arose due to computer error. When the error was found all assessments generated will be checked and reissued if necessary.

If it was human error the chances are nobody would have noticed.

I submitted my Form 12 earlier this year and they somehow seemed to miss the section relating to rental income. I would only have a small liability on this, and did complete the form correctly. They just seem to have missed it completely.

Do I advise them, or put it down to to their mistake, I completed my side of the bargain by making the return !

It is the ultimately individual's responsibility to keep their own tax affairs up to date. If you spot a mistake, even if it is Revenue's fault, then you should really inform them to avoid things getting out of whack and problems being stored up for a later date. As far as I know Revenue will not accept the fact that they made a mistake as an excuse for making an incorrect delcaration/payment. Arguably unfair but that's just the way it is.