Income Tax Return Deadline

Revenue Investigations. Rental Income. Airbnb Income. Qualifying Disclosures. Income Tax. Business Tax. Short term Property Rentals. Revenue Notification Letters.

The Irish Revenue is cracking down on anyone who has a listing on the accommodation website Airbnb.  It appears that Revenue is focusing on the tax years 2014, 2015 and 2016 but please be aware, Revenue have the legislative powers to extend the scope of their investigation to include previous years.   If you have a received a Letter of Notification from Revenue and believe you’re at risk of a Revenue Investigation, please get in contact with us.  If you haven’t yet received a Notice of Investigation, there may be still time to prepare a Qualifying Disclosure.

The questions to ask yourself are:

1. Are you letting a property through Airbnb?
2. Have you recently received a Letter from Revenue advising you that your tax affairs are “under investigation”?
3. Do you believe that you may be at risk of a Revenue Investigation?

So, what does that potentially mean for a Tax Payer?

Once the Tax Payer receives a Notice of Investigation the option to make a voluntary disclosure no longer exists.

Previously unreported income from the letting of property via an accommodation website such as Airbnb will be liable to interest and penalties with potential publication of the Tax Payer’s name on the defaulters list.

What should the Tax Payer do?

If you haven’t received a Notice of Investigation, then you should file the relevant Income Tax Returns NOW.  If you have already filed tax returns for 2014, 2015 and 2016, you should make the necessary amendments to those forms as soon as possible.

If you file your Tax Returns immediately you are reducing the risk of being selected for a Revenue Investigation.

What should the Tax Payer include in his/her Return?

Your Rental Profit is liable to Income Tax, PRSI and Universal Social Charge.

The profit is arrived at by reducing your “Rents Receivable” figure by expenses which are wholly and exclusively incurred for the purpose of your business which include:

• Repairs and Maintenance including decorating, laundry and cleaning.

• Airbnb fees/commission

• Insurance

• Legal fees

• Accountancy / Taxation Fees

• Advertising Costs

• Utilities

Non-allowable expenses include:

• Food

• Commuting/Travel

Recent Revenue eBrief

Revenue eBrief No. 59/18 was published on 17^th April 2018 in relation to the Tax treatment of income arising from the provision of short-term accommodation:

https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-04/04-01-20.pdf

This comprehensive and detailed guidance material differentiated between frequent hosting and occasional hosting:

Frequent Hosting – Schedule D Case I

If the property is expected to be available for rent on a frequent and/or regular basis as opposed to a once-off or occasional basis then any profits arising from the provision of the accommodation will be liable to Income Tax under Case I Schedule D.

Allowable Case I Expenses:

• Capital allowances – The annual wear & tear allowance of 12½% for plant and machinery used for the purposes of a trade e.g. furniture and fixtures.
• Pre-trading expenses – expenses incurred up to three years prior to the date of commencement of a trade are completely tax deductible where the expenditure would be deductible had it been incurred after the trade commenced. Examples include the cost of painting or wall papering a room or purchasing towels and bed linen in advance of the guest accommodation being put into use for the first time.
• Expenses wholly and exclusively expended carrying on a trade

Occasional Hosting – Schedule D Case IV

If the property is let only on an occasional or infrequent basis then the profits generated will be taxed under Schedule D Case IV.

Allowable Case IV Expenses:

• No Capital Allowances
• No Pre-trading expenses
• Annual costs with a property will not be permitted such as the Television licence, Insurance, etc.

Additional Tax Issues to Watch Out for

VAT @ 9% could arise if your turnover figure is greater than €37,500.  Please be aware that the VAT registration is based on Turnover (i.e. what you received in rental income) and not Profit (i.e. the difference between your rental income and the allowable expenditure).

In the event of a subsequent sale of this property, since it won’t have qualified as your home for the entire period of ownership, you may not be entitled to the full CGT exemption afforded by Principal Private Residence Relief.

What to do Next

If any of this post has affected you and you’re worried about a potential tax liability or Revenue Investigation, please don’t hesitate to contact us to see what we can do for You.

Please be aware that the information contained in this article is of a general nature.  It is not intended to address specific circumstances in relation to any individual or entity. All reasonable efforts have been made by Accounts Advice Centre to provide accurate and up-to-date information, however, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate on the date it is received or that it will continue to remain so. This information should not be acted upon without full and comprehensive, specialist professional tax advice.

Business Tax. Corporation Tax. Finance Act. Research & Development. Capital Allowances.

CORPORATION TAX

For all those individuals currently preparing his/her own 2015 Corporation Tax Return, please be aware of the significant changes in Finance Act 2014, especially in the areas of:

1. Research & Development Tax Credits
2. Capital Allowances for the Provision of Specified Intangible Assets
3. Three Year Relief for Start-up Companies
4. Employment and Investment Incentive (EII)
5. Company Residence

Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit

Up to 1st January 2015, Section 766 TCA 1997 provided that the 25% tax credit applied to the amount of qualifying Research and Development (R&D) expenditure incurred by a company in a given year that was in excess of the amount spent in 2003 (i.e. the base year).

For accounting periods beginning on or after 1st January 2015, the base year restriction has been removed which means the credit is now available on a volume basis as opposed to an incremental basis.

Capital Allowances for the Provision of Specified Intangible Assets

 This provides capital allowances for expenditure incurred by a company on the provision of certain intangible assets for use in a trade.

Up to 1st January 2015 the use of such allowances in any accounting period was restricted to a maximum of 80% of the trading income from the “relevant trade” in which the assets were used.  Another way of wording this is, for accounting periods ending on or before 31st December 2014 only 80% of the income from the “relevant trade” could be sheltered by the capital allowances and interest.

Finance Act 2014 introduced an amendment to this rule stating that for accounting periods beginning on or after 1st January 2015 the restriction has been removed meaning all the “relevant trade” income can now be sheltered.

Finance Act 2014 also introduced the following:

1. a flat five year period for all disposals on or after 23rd October 2014.
2. an amendment to the “connected party” rules stating that from 23rd October 2014 the purchaser can claim capital allowances on the lower of (a) the purchase price paid or (b) the tax written down value.

Three Year Relief for Start-up Companies

 This relief from corporation tax on trading income (and certain capital gains) of new start-up companies in the first three years of trading has been extended to new business start ups in 2015.

Employment and Investment Incentive

The EII is being amended as follows:

1. The amount a company can raise in a lifetime has been increased from €10 million to €15 million (s. 491(2) TCA 1997).
2. The amount a company can raise in EII funds in any one year had been increased from €2.5 million to €5 million (s. 491(4) TCA 1997).
3. The scheme has been expanded to include medium sized enterprises in certain non-assisted areas, the management of nursing homes and IFSC services, subject to certain conditions.
4. The period for which shares in an EII company must be held by an investor to avoid a clawback of the relief has been extended to four years (s. 496(1) and s.488(1) TCA 1997).
5. any claim for EII relief will not be allowed unless, at the time the claim is made, the company in which the investment is made qualifies for a tax clearance certificate

Previously income tax relief was given for 30/41 of the investment made. The remaining tax relief of 11/41 was given in the year after the holding period ended. Finance Act 2014 amended the income tax relief which will now be 30/40 and 10/40 respectively.

Company Residence

Finance Act 2014 introduced amendments to the corporate tax residence rules to address concerns about the “double Irish” structure.

The new rules state that an Irish-incorporated company will be regarded as Irish tax resident here unless it is deemed to resident in another country under the terms of a Double Taxation Agreement.  Therefore if, under the provisions of that treaty, an Irish-incorporated company is considered to be tax resident in another jurisdiction then the company will not be regarded as Irish tax resident.

These changes are in addition to the existing “central management and control test” which means that the new legislation does not prevent  a non-Irish incorporated company that is managed and controlled in Ireland from being considered resident for tax purposes in Ireland.

The new provisions take effect from 1st January 2015 for companies incorporated on or after 1st January 2015.

For companies incorporated before 1st January 2015, the new provisions will come into effect from 1st January 2021.

As an anti-avoidance measure, however, the new legislation take effect for companies incorporated before 1st January 2015 where there is (a) a change in the ownership of the company as well as (b) a major change in the nature or conduct of the business of the company within the time-frame that begins one year before the date of the change of ownership and ending five years after that date i.e. occurring within a period of up to six years.

The aim of this anti-avoidance provision was to restrict the incorporation of companies between 23rd October 2014 and 31st December 2014 to 1st January 2015 where the primary intention was to avail of the extension.

It is always essential to keep up to date with changes to the Finance Act especially if you are preparing your own tax returns.

For further information, please click: https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/documents/notes-for-guidance/vat/vat-guidance-notes-fa2014.pdf

Please be aware that the information contained in this article is of a general nature.  It is not intended to address specific circumstances in relation to any individual or entity. All reasonable efforts have been made by Accounts Advice Centre to provide accurate and up-to-date information, however, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate on the date it is received or that it will continue to remain so. This information should not be acted upon without full and comprehensive, specialist professional tax advice.

Capital Gains Tax. Self assessment. Tax Deadline. Income Tax Returns.

As you’re aware, Capital Gains Tax is a self- assessment tax.  Even if you have already filed your 2014 Income Tax Return by 31st October 2015, please keep in mind that there are still a number of key deadlines before the end of the year.  One such date is 15th December 2015, which is the payment date for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on assets disposed between 1st January 2015 and 30th November 2015.The due dates for the payment of your Capital Gains Tax liability arising in the tax year 2015 are as follows:

1. 15^th December 2015 if you made any disposals or transfer of assets in the period 1^st January 2015 to 30th November 2015 inclusive.
2. 31^st January 2016 for all asset disposals and transfers made between 1^st and 31^st December 2015 inclusive.

In Summary

If an asset was disposed of or transferred between 1^st January to 30^th November 2015 giving rise to a chargeable gain then any liability to CGT is due and payable by 15^th December 2015. If, on the other hand, it was disposed of or transferred in the month of December 2015 then any liability arising will be due for payment on or before 31^st January 2016.

Other Points

1. If you have made a disposal under an unconditional contract, the date of disposal is deemed to be the date the contract is signed.
2. If the contract is subject to a condition, then the date of disposal is deemed to be the date the condition is satisfied.

What about CGT Refunds?

Please be aware that there is a 4 year time limit or Statute of Limitations for claiming tax refunds. If, for example, you are entitled to a refund from the tax year 2011, then you must ensure that you complete and send your refund claim to the Revenue Commissioners before 31st December 2015 otherwise you will forfeit this refund.

For further information, please click: https://www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/capital-taxes/cgt/index.aspx

Please be aware that the information contained in this article is of a general nature.  It is not intended to address specific circumstances in relation to any individual or entity. All reasonable efforts have been made by Accounts Advice Centre to provide accurate and up-to-date information, however, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate on the date it is received or that it will continue to remain so. This information should not be acted upon without full and comprehensive, specialist professional tax advice.