Thousands of Irish due €500 or €1,000 straight into accounts in days before payment increases – how to claim
IRISH renters have been warned to claim €500 or €1,000 due straight into their accounts before the payment increases next year.
Finance Minister Michael McGrath urged anyone due the rent tax credit for 2022 or 2023 to claim the payment - as some 323,000 claims have now been made for the payment.
Single tenants can claim €500 each for 2022 and 2023, and married couples who rent can make a joint claim of €1,000 for each year - with the credit paid into accounts within days of submitting a Revenue claim.
The Government confirmed that the rent credit will rise to €750 for 2024, and €1,500 for married couples.
Minister McGrath said over 250,000 PAYE taxpayers have now made claims for 2022, which was the first year of the credit, and 323,000 claims for 2022 and 2023 in total, with €120million paid out to hard-hit renters.
He said: "The rent tax credit of up to €500 was originally introduced in Budget 2023 as a means of targeting assistance at renters at a time of high rents.
"It is very welcome that as of December 6, there are now over 250,000 PAYE taxpayer units who have claimed the credit for 2022, the first year in which for which it applies.
"As a proportion of those claims will be in respect of jointly assessed couples, who may claim up to €1,000 in respect of 2022 and 2023, so the actual number of people who have benefitted from this measure is even greater."
Renters have four years to claim the credit, so 2022 renters can make a claim right up until 2026.
And 2024 renters will be able to claim for the increased €750 once they have paid €2,500 in rent in the 2024 tax year.
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The Minister added: "It should be noted that taxpayers have four years in which to make a claim for the relief. In addition, the statistics currently available refer only to claims by PAYE taxpayers.
"Data on claims by self-assessed taxpayers is not yet available and I expect these figures will increase further.
"I was pleased to be able to further enhance the Rent Tax Credit for 2024, increasing the maximum level by 50 per cent to €750 and I strongly urge all eligible taxpayers to register for the credit using the Revenue MyAccount for 2022 and 2023.
"It will also possible to claim the credit in realtime for 2024 early in the New Year."
The Department said 201,882 claims have been made for 2022, and 48,410 taxpayers have made claims for both 2022 and 2023. Another 24,375 claims have been made for 2023 only.
The rent tax credit will increase to €750 for single renters and €1,500 for jointly assessed married couples for both 2024 and 2025.
CLAIM CASH
Any PAYE taxpayer who hasn't yet claimed the rent tax credit for 2022 or 2023, can get the cash by submitting their Income Tax Return through the myAccount portal on the Revenue website.
And claims can also be made in real time for 2024 through the Manage Your Tax option on the Revenue site once renters have paid €2,500 in rent so far in that tax year.
And self-assessed taxpayers can claim by submitting their Income Tax Returns, also through the Revenue Online Service.
Once eligible, the tax credit is paid out to renters who meet the criteria within a few days of claiming.
HOW TO APPLY FOR RENTAL TAX CREDIT:
- Log into revenue.ie.
- In the first box, under PAYE Services, click Review your Tax.
- Once you have filled out your basic details and checked your income tax details are correct, you can apply.
- To apply for the tax credit, go to the You and Your Family section, and scroll down to rent tax credit.
- You'll be asked to fill out your basic details and if you receive any housing support.
- Your PPS number is required and Revenue also asks for the RTB number of the registered property.
- Renters are asked to fill in the landlord’s home address and state if they are resident in Ireland but this section is not essential.
- Claimants are also asked to declare if they're related to the landlord and whether the property is your main residence.
- The Rent Tax Credit Form is next, which allows users to put in their total rent and calculate what they’re entitled to. The maximum which can be applied for is €2,500 meaning someone paying rent for an entire year would likely have paid well over €2,500 and so be entitled to the full 20 per cent or €500 tax credit. This will amend to €750 then for the year 2024, but €500 will be the maximum claim for tax years 2022 and 2023.
And the €500 credit rate for both 2022 and 2023 can now be claimed by parents paying for students' accommodation in digs, after amendments to the scheme were confirmed in Budget 2024.
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Grant Thornton Ireland's Sarah Meredith said: "The rent tax credit has been increased from €500 per year to €750 from 2024.
"There is additional good news for parents paying for their student children’s accommodation in the case of Rent a Room or digs accommodation, as they can now claim this credit both going forward and retrospectively for the years 2022 and 2023."