Tax consultant Robert Graham offers 10 tips for your tax return to keep more money in your pocket.
Tax return time is upon us and anyone who is not an employee generally must file a tax return. One of the most common questions I get asked is “how do I know what tax credits and benefits I’m entitled to so I can reduce my tax liability.”
As a tax consultant most people come to me because they aren’t fans of form filling and spreadsheets and they feel the tax system is too complicated. One thing I’ve always been good at is sorting out the complicated stuff and making people happy.
“Timing is crucial. If you don’t have your return in on time, this will incur late penalties”
Reducing tax liability gives you more disposable income and there are many benefits that you might not be aware of.
Get organised and get filing
Here are the most common items that people oversee:
- You can claim for your medical and non-routine dental expenses. Can go back four years if you didn’t claim in previous years. Go to your dentist who will give you a form med 2 which is required to claim dental expenses. Your doctor should have a print out summary for your expenses for the past four years.
- You can get tax relief on nursing home fees if you pay the costs for someone else. If you are paying for a parent who is in a nursing home, you can get tax relief at 40% on these payments.
- If you work from home can claim a remote working credit for some of your heating, electricity, and broadband bills. So if in 2022, you were still working from home you can claim some of your bills back.
- You can make a pension contribution and get tax relief.
- You can invest in trading companies (usually start-ups) and get tax relief. This is known as EII relief.
- You can rent a room in your home and get €14k a year tax free
- If you are a renter, you can get the rent tax credit. (You should ensure your tax credits are correct)
- If you married during the year (congrats!), you should ask Revenue to do a year of marriage review in January as may be due a tax refund. The moment you marry you can be jointly assessed. It works better when one spouse is on a high income and one is on a low income
- Depending on your job you may be entitled to flat rate expenses. E.g. uniforms, work attire, hard hats etc
- Be prepared in advance and be organised. (easier said than done when you are busy). However, timing is crucial. If you don’t have your return in on time, this will incur late penalties.
