Tax News

Ireland’s Research and Development tax credit system is a valuable tax based incentive, providing major benefits to both multinational companies and SMEs operating in Ireland.  The R&D tax credit was first introduced in the Finance Act 2004 and has been subject to various amendments in the subsequent Finance Acts.

The credit operates by providing up to 25% of R&D expenditure incurred by a company on qualifying R&D activities (both revenue and capital) in a tax credit or in cash (subject to certain conditions being met). This 25% tax credit can be claimed in addition to the normal 12½% revenue deduction available for the R&D expenditure.  Therefore, the total tax benefit to a limited company is 37½% being the 12½% standard corporation tax rate plus the 25% R&D Tax credit.

How can the Credit be used?

Companies are entitled to a credit of 25% of the incremental R&D expenditure incurred for periods commencing on or after 1st January 2015.

The credit can be used to:

• Reduce the company’s corporation tax liability of the current period.  Where the credit exceeds the corporation tax liability for the current year, the excess can be carried forward indefinitely to offset against future corporation tax liabilities or
• Reduce the corporation tax liability of the previous year i.e. the company can make a claim for the excess to be carried back or offset against the preceding period’s corporation tax liability or
• If unused, the credit can be refunded by the tax authorities subject to certain restrictions.  The only restriction in obtaining a cash refund is that the R&D credit refund cannot exceed the PAYE/PRSI remitted by the company to Revenue in the last two years or the corporation tax liability for the prior ten years if higher.

The claim must be made within one year of the end of the accounting period in which the expenditure has been incurred.

Broadly,

It can alternatively be used as a key employee reward mechanism to remunerate R&D staff effectively, tax free subject to certain conditions.  The effective income tax rate for such key employees may be reduced to a minimum of 23%, provided certain conditions are met by the company and the individual.

Revenue published Tax and Duty Manual Part 29-02-03 – Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit today.

These updated guidelines clarify Revenue’s treatment of rental expenditure as well as including information on the treatment of subsidies received under (i) the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) and (ii) the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS).

According to previous guidance material on this matter issued on 1st July 2020 Revenue’s position was that “rent is expenditure on a building or structure and is excluded from being expenditure on research and development by section 766(1)(a) TCA 1997”.

Since then, Revenue’s position has been the source of continuous discussion and debate with many disagreeing with Revenue’s interpretation of the treatment of rent in relation to R&D claims.

Clarity had been sought from Revenue with regards to their position on rent in relation to both historic and new claims for Research and Development tax relief.

In this latest update, Revenue has clarified that rent will qualify in such circumstances where “the expenditure is incurred wholly and exclusively in the carrying on of the R&D activities.”

According to Paragraph 4.2 of the updated Revenue Guidance Manual:

“In many cases expenditure incurred on renting a space or facility, which is used by a company to carry on an R&D activity, may be expenditure that is incurred “for the purposes of”, or “in connection with”, the R&D activity but will not constitute expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively in the carrying on of the R&D activity. The eligibility of rental expenditure incurred by a company will relate to the extent to which it is incurred wholly and exclusively in the carrying on of the R&D activities. Where the nature of the rented space or facility is such that it is integral to the carrying on of the R&D activity itself then it is likely that the rent can be shown to be more than merely “for the purposes of” or “in connection with” the R&D activity.”

Therefore, it is possible for rental expenditure to be included as part of an R&D tax relief claim but only where that rented building is deemed to be integral to the carrying on of R&D activities.  According to Revenue’s guidance material, an example of a rental expense that may be considered qualifying expenditure might relate to the rental of a specialized laboratory used solely for the purposes of carrying out R&D activities. This is contrasted with the rental of office space necessary to house an R&D team, but which is not deemed to be integral to the actual R&D activity.  In this case, this rent would not be treated as eligible expenditure.

Revenue have confirmed that this position will only apply for accounting periods commencing on or after 1st July 2020. 

Revenue’s Manual has also been updated to include:

• Confirmation that the EWSS and TWSS are considered State support and therefore expenditure from such assistance will not qualify for relief.  In other words, such amounts will reduce the qualifying allowable expenditure or qualifying R&D tax relief expenditure.
• The COVID-19 practice for 2020, in relation to the use of a building in a ‘specified relevant period’ under section 766A TCA 1997.
• A further example of a subcontractor who would not be eligible to claim the R&D tax credit.

For further information, please follow the link: https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-29/29-02-03.pdf

When setting up a foreign company in Ireland, the first step is to decide on the most appropriate structure – a branch or a subsidiary company.

• A branch is not a separate legal entity in its own right.
• Instead, it’s an arm of the external company operating in Ireland.
• In other words, a branch office is an extension of the parent company abroad.
• A branch performs the same business operations and operates under the legal umbrella of the parent/holding/external company.
• The parent/external/holding company has complete control over any of the branch’s decisions.
• All liabilities incurred by the branch are ultimately those of the head office located overseas.

• A subsidiary, on the other hand, is an independent legal entity.
• It can be either partially or wholly owned by the foreign company.
• It has the same compliance requirements as a that of a Limited Company in Ireland.
• A subsidiary is generally considered to be more tax-efficient than a branch because it’s liable to Irish Corporation Tax on its worldwide income.
• The subsidiary will be required to file an A1 and Constitution with the Companies Registration Office.

SUBSIDIARY

Registering a subsidiary is just like setting up a new company in Ireland.

It is an independent legal entity which is different to the parent or holding company.

Incorporation of a subsidiary requires the completion of Irish Companies Registration Office (CRO) statutory documentation and the drafting of a constitution. The only difference is that the parent company must be either the sole or majority shareholder of the new company i.e. holding at least 51% of the shares.

The subsidiary is generally registered a private company limited by shares.

When setting up a company with another company as the shareholder, someone must be appointed who is authorised to sign on behalf of the company.  This would usually be a Director or another authorised person.

The liability of the parent company is limited to the share capital invested in the Irish subsidiary

With a Parent company as the shareholder, all the existing shareholders of that parent company have the same percentage stake in the new Irish subsidiary.

As with all new Irish companies, the subsidiary will require at least one director who is an EEA resident and a company secretary.  It will also be required to have a registered office address and a trading office within the State.  The company must purchase an insurance bond if none of the directors are EEA resident, unless, the subsidiary can demonstrate that it has a “real and continuous economic link” to Ireland.

An Irish subsidiary company can avail of the 12½% Corporation Tax rate on all sales, both within Ireland as well as internationally.

BRANCH

A branch is not a separate legal entity.

It is generally considered to be an extension of its parent company abroad.

The parent company is fully liable for the Branch and its activities.

An Irish branch will only be allowed to carry out the same activities as the parent company.

In accordance with the Companies Act 2014, a branch must be registered within thirty days of its establishment in Ireland.

As a branch is deemed to be an extension of the external company, its financial statements would be consolidated with those of the parent company and legally it cannot enter into contracts or own property in its own right.

An Irish branch company only qualifies for the 12½% Corporation Tax on sales within Ireland.

A Branch is required to file an annual Return with a set of financial statements of the external company, with the CRO.

Disclaimer This article is for guidance purposes only. Please be aware that it does not constitute professional advice. No liability is accepted by Accounts Advice Centre for any action taken or not taken based on the information contained in this article. Specific, independent professional advice, should always be obtained in line with the full, complete and unambiguous facts of each individual situation before any action is taken or not taken.  Any and all information is subject to change.

The new CORE Portal will be launched on 16^th December 2020.

The new Portal will make filing with Companies Registration Office easier and more efficient.

Main Features of the new CORE Portal include:

1. The ability to upload signed PDF signature pages. This removes the requirement to post signature pages to the CRO and should greatly reduce issues such as lost or delayed post as well as missed filing deadlines. A signature page must be generated and signed then a PDF version of the signed signature page can then be uploaded to the system. Please be aware, the option of E-signatures to sign the signature page will not be available.

2. An automatic Fifty Six days to file Annual Returns. This replaces how presenters file annual returns.  Currently the Form B1 can be filed and a signature page generated twenty eight days after the ARD with a further twenty eight days to file the accounts.  From 16^th December 2020 companies will have an automatic 56 days from its ARD (annual return date) to complete the entire filing process which will include (a) preparing the annual return in CORE, (b) uploading the financial statements, (c) generating the signature page once the financial statements have been successfully uploaded, (d) uploading the signed signature page in a PDF format and (e) make the necessary filing payment.

3. From 16^th December 2020 it will be possible for CORE users to preview, remove and upload a new version of the financial statements before the B1 signature page is generated. Currently a new signature page is created every time a set of financial statements is removed and a new version is uploaded.

In response to the Covid-19 outbreak in Ireland, the Government has asked people to take all necessary measures to reduce the spread of the virus and where possible individuals are being asked to work from home.

Today Revenue updated their e-Working and Tax guidance manual (i.e. Revenue eBrief No. 045/20) in which it published Government’s recommendation as to how employers can allow employees to work from home.

The content of Tax and Duty Manual Part 05-02-13 has been updated to include:

• An explanation of what constitutes an e-worker along with examples.
• The conditions that apply to employer payments of home expenses of e-workers.
• Clarification that current Government recommendations for employees to work from home as a result of COVID-19 meet the conditions for relief.
• Guidance for employees claiming relief for allowable e-working expenses, who are not in receipt of e-working payments from their employers.

Revenue has defined e-working to be where an employee works:

• at home on a full or part-time basis
• part of the time at home and the remainder in the normal place of work
• while on the move, with visits to the normal place of work

The guidance material goes on to state that e-working involves:

• logging onto a work computer remotely
• sending and receiving email, data or files remotely
• developing ideas, products and services remotely

The revised Revenue guidance clarifies that the following conditions must also be met:

• There is a formal agreement in place between the employer and the employee under which the employee is required to work from home
• An employee is required to perform substantive duties of the employment at home; and
• The employee is required to work for substantial periods at home

The guidance confirms that e-working arrangements do not apply to individuals who in the normal course of their employment bring work home outside standard working hours.

It would appear from the updated material, that where there is an occasional and ancillary element to work completed from home, the e-working provisions will not apply.

The revised guidance does not specify what a “formal agreement” between the employer and employee might contain therefore it would be advisable for businesses/employers going forward to consider putting in place a formal structure for employees looking to avail of the e-worker relief in the future.

The guidance material states in broad terms that employees forced to work from home due to the Covid crisis can claim a tax credit.

“Where the Government recommends that employers allow employees to work from home to support national public health objectives, as in the case of Covid-19, the employer may pay the employee up to €3.20 per day to cover the additional costs of working from home.  If the employer does not make this payment, the employee may be entitled to make a claim under section 114 TCA 1997 in respect of vouched expenses incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of the employment”.

The revised guidance advises that employers must retain records of all tax-free allowance payments to employees.

In situations where an employee is working from their home but undertakes business travel on a particular day and subsequently claims travel and subsistence expenses, please be aware that if the e-workers daily allowance is also claimed by that employee for the same day, then it will be disallowed and instead, treated as normal pay in the hands of the employee/e-worker i.e. it will be subject to payroll taxes.

Where an employee qualifies as an e-worker, an employer can provide the following equipment for use at home where a benefit-in-kind (BIK) charge will not arise provided any private use is incidental:

• Computer, laptop, hand-held computer
• printer
• scanner
• software to facilitate working from home

There is no additional USC liability imposed on the provision of this work-related equipment to an employee.

Please be aware, however, that laptops, computers, office equipment and office furniture purchased by an employee are not allowable deductions under s. 114 of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997.

e-Working expenses can be claimed by completing an Income Tax return.  An individual can complete this form on the Revenue website as follows:

• sign into myAccount
• click on ‘Review your tax’ link in PAYE Services
• select the Income Tax return for the relevant tax year
• click ‘Your Job’
• in the ‘Claim for Tax Credits, allowances and Reliefs’ page select ‘Remote Working (e-Working) Expenses’ and insert the full amount of the expense in the “Amount” section.

As a claim may be selected for future examination, all documentation relating to a claim should be retained for a period of six years from the end of the tax year to which the claim relates.

Finally, for employees who meet the relevant conditions and are deemed qualify as e-workers:

• Using part of his/her home for the purposes of e-working will not affect his/her entitlement to principal private residence (PPR) relief when selling his/her home in the future.
• There is no reduction in the Local Property Tax (LPT) where part of the property is used for the purposes of e-working.

For further information, please follow the link: https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/ebrief/2020/no-0452020.aspx

Following recent developments of the PAYE system,  employees and Proprietary Directors can now access details of their total pay and statutory deductions for 2019. They can also view their tax position for the year based on Revenue’s preliminary calculation.

New terminology and documentation have been introduced as follows:

1. The Employment Detail Summary replaces the P60 for 2019 and subsequent years. is the official record of an employee’s pay and statutory deductions for the year.
2. The Preliminary End of Year Statement is a calculation by Revenue of the employee or Proprietary Director’s income tax and USC liabilities for 2019 based on the payroll information submitted by employers throughout 2019.
3. The Statement of Liability replaces the P21 Balancing End of Year Statement.

You can access the record of your payroll details for 2019 as follows:

• Go to MyAccounts
• Click on the PAYE Services Screen
• Click on Employment Detail Summary
• Click on Review Your Tax 2016 – 2019

This summary of payroll information or proof of income can be downloaded or printed for you to retain or it provided to third parties as required.

To calculate whether you have underpaid, overpaid or paid the correct amount of income tax and USC for 2019 you can request a Preliminary End of Year Statement by

• Clicking on PAYE Services
• Clicking on Review Your Tax 2016 – 2019
• Clicking on Statement of Liability for 2019

If you have overpaid your taxes, based on the Revenue’s records, please be aware that the refund will not issue automatically.   You will need to file an Income Tax Return for 2019 to include (i) your total income, (ii) any allowable deductions and (iii) your tax credits so that Revenue has been provided with full and complete information necessary to calculate your tax position.

In order to file an Income Tax Return, you should:

• Go to MyAccount
• Click onto the pre-populated form for 2019
• Examine the information contained in the form to ensure it is correct
• Insert all relevant information that has not been included in this pre-populated form including dividend income, deposit interest, health expenses, etc.

Once you have submitted your Income Tax Return,  it will be processed by Revenue and a Statement of Liability will issue along wtih any refund due for the 2019 year of assessment.

The refund can be paid in two ways: (i) directly into your bank account or (ii) by cheque posted to your home address.  if you wish to have the refund transferred electronically, you must:

• Go to MyAccounts
• Click onto MyProfile
• Insert the BIC, IBAN and full name on the bank account in the relevant sections

If, however, the Preliminary End of Year Statement shows that you underpaid your taxes for the 2019 year of assessment, you must file an online Income Tax Return to include all relevant income, allowable deductions, tax credits, etc.  This can be done through MyAccount.  Once Revenue has processed the information, a Statement of Liability will issue.  This document will outline how any underpayment is be recovered.  Options include adjusting your tax credits and standard rate cut-off point over one or more years.

The Revenue Commissioners will write to taxpayers who have underpaid tax based on their preliminary calculations, requiring them to complete and file an Income Tax Return for 2019.

In circumstances where the taxpayer does not file a return, the Revenue Commissioners will write to them again, this time outlining how the underpayment is to be collected.

On 29th July 2019 the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership was launched in Ireland.  This new legal requirement forms part of Ireland’s implementation of the 4th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

The new Central Register of Beneficial Ownership requires that all companies file details of their Ultimate Beneficial Owners with the Companies Registrations Office.

Under the Regulations, the commencement date for the obligation to file on the Central Register was 22^nd June 2019 and companies must deliver their beneficial ownership information to the CRO by 22^nd November 2019.

Going forward, newly incorporated companies will have five months from the date of incorporation to register their information.

It is considered a breach of statutory duty not to file within the deadline date.

This is a new filing requirement, in addition to the other usual requirements, for example, filing a B1 annual return.

A beneficial owner is defined an individual/natural person who owns or controls directly or indirectly:

1. more than 25% of the equity
2. more than 25% of the voting rights or
3. has capacity to control the company by other means.

In situations where no beneficial owners can be identified, the names of the directors, senior managers or any other individual who exerts a dominant influence within the company must be entered in the register of beneficial owners.  In other words, where the beneficial owners are unknown, the company must take “all reasonable steps” to ensure the beneficial ownership information is gathered and recorded on the register.

The following information is required to be filed with the RBO in respect of each beneficial owner:

1. The name,
2. Date of Birth,
3. Nationality,
4. Residential Address,
5. PPS Number, if applicable – The Registrar will not disclose any PPS Numbers and will only use them for verification purposes.
6. A Statement of the nature and extent of the ownership interest held or extent of the control exercised,
7. The date of entry on the register as a beneficial owner,
8. The date of ceasing to be a beneficial owner.

For non-Irish residents who do not hold a PPS number, a Transaction Number must be requested from the Companies Registration Office.  This is done by completing and submitting a Form BEN2 and having it notarised in the relevant jurisdiction.

Failure to comply with the Regulations is an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a Class A fine, or conviction on indictment to a fine up to €500,000.

Going forward, any changes to a Company’s Internal Beneficial Ownership Register must be updated in the Central Register within fourteen days of the change having occurred.

Once a company has been dissolved the registrar will delete all information held in relation to that entity, after the expiration of ten years.

Who has access to this information?

As required by EU anti-money laundering laws, members of the public will have restricted access to the CRBO including:

• The name, month/year of birth, country of residence and nationality of each beneficial owner.
• The nature and extent of the interest held or the nature and extent of the control exercised by the beneficial owner.

The 2019 regulations provide for the following to have unrestricted access to the Central Register:

• An Garda Síochána
• The Revenue Commissioners
• Members of the Financial Intelligence Unit Ireland
• The Criminal Assets Bureau

On 17th July 2019, the U.S. Senate approved the 2019 Protocol to amend the Switzerland USA Double Taxation Agreement.

Formally, the protocol will enter into force on the date the instruments of ratification are exchanged.

The core element of the protocol of amendment is the exchange of information.

The protocol provides for the following changes:

• Currently there is no differentiation between tax evasion and tax fraud in Switzerland. This was in line with the international standard on information exchange. Switzerland applied this to in excess of one hundred jurisdictions however, the United States was not one of them. The protocol will erase this difference within the context of administrative assistance in relation to the U.S. It will also apply to other categories of information requests.
• For pillar 3a solutions (i.e. dividends paid to individual retirement arrangements), it will provide for an exemption from the source country (i.e. the Us) withholding 15% tax on cross border dividends from 1st January 2020 provided the protocol of amendment comes into force in 2019.
• Mandatory binding arbitration of unresolved competent authority cases will be implemented where the competent authorities cannot reach agreement in the mutual agreement procedure. This will eliminate exposure to double taxation.
• Under the new provision, the United States will be able to make group requests under the FATCA Agreement. The IRS will submit the group requests to the Swiss Federal Authority. The affected Swiss financial institutions will have ten days to deliver the required information on receipt of the request from the Swiss Federal Authority.

This milestone in the Switzerland and USA tax relationship is likely to make Switzerland far more appealing to U.S. multinationals.

If you have recently moved to the UK and intend selling your home in Ireland, please be aware that even if you qualify for Principal Private Residence Relief under Section 604 TCA 1997 in Ireland you may not qualify for UK Private Residence Relief.

This article is aimed at individuals who have become UK resident and who are in the process of selling their Irish principal private residence.

In general, you do not pay Capital Gains Tax when you sell or ‘dispose of’ your home if all the following conditions apply:

• you have only one home and you’ve lived in this property as your main home for the entire time you’ve owned it
• you have not let part of it out (Please be aware that this does not include having a single lodger)
• you have not used part of the property for business purposes only
• the grounds, including all buildings, are less than 5,000 square metres in total
• you did not buy the property with the sole or main intention to make a gain

If all the above conditions apply you will automatically get a tax relief called Private Residence Relief.

Your period of ownership begins on the date you first acquired the dwelling house or on 31st March 1982 if that is the later date. It ends when you dispose of or sell the property.

The final 18 months of your period of ownership will always qualify for Private Residence Relief regardless of how you use the property during that time but providing the property has been your only or main residence at some point.

The following periods of absence are treated as periods of occupation for the purposes of calculating Private Residence Relief:

• Any periods of absence, for whatever reason, not exceeding three years in total
• Any period of absence when carrying out the duties of your employment outside the United Kingdom
• Any periods not exceeding four years in total which are due specifically to employment requirements.

In order for these periods of absence to qualify as “deemed occupation” there must be a time both before and after the absence when the dwelling house is the individual’s sole or main residence. It is important to keep in mind that absences due to the conditions of an employment will qualify for the Relief even if the individual does not return to the dwelling house afterwards provided the reason for not their returning is due to their contract of employment requiring them to live somewhere else.

Any period of absence which requires the individual to live in job/work related accommodation will qualify for Private Residence Relief if there is an intention to occupy the dwelling as a main residence at some point.

HMRC will, by concession, allow a period of up to one year before the individual begins to occupy the property as his/her principal private residence to be treated as a period of occupation provided the property is then occupied as his/her only or main residence. In exceptional cases, HMRC may extend this period to two years.

From April 2015, the PRR rules were amended so that a property may only be treated as an individual’s main or sole residence for a tax year where that person or his/her spouse/legally registered partner has either:

(a) been tax resident in the same country as the property for the tax year in question (For further information on residence rules please follows this link:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/residence-domicile-and-remittance-basis-rules-uk-tax-liability/guidance-note-for-residence-domicile-and-the-remittance-basis-rdr1) or

(b)  has stayed overnight in the property at least 90 times in that UK tax year.  Time spent in another property owned in the same jurisdiction/country can also be included in the ninety day count so that the total number of days in all properties in the territory in question are added together.

The new rules apply equally to a UK resident individual disposing of an overseas home as well as to a non-UK resident disposing of a home in the United Kingdom.

Finally, Lettings Relief may be available in circumstances where Principal Residence Relief is restricted because all or part of a property has been rented out.

This Relief is particularly important for individuals who, due to the current economic climate, experience difficulty selling their former home and, as a result, find they need to rent it out while they’re trying to sell it.

A maximum gain of £40,000 per owner is exempt from Capital Gains Tax provided that property has at some time been the main or only residence of the owner.

From 6th April 2020 there will be a change to this Relief whereby Lettings Relief will only be available in situations where the owner shares occupancy with the tenant.

Traders (including farmers), professionals and other persons carrying on a business, as well as non-trading or non-profit making organisations and bodies of persons (including charitable organisations and statutory bodies) are required to file Forms 46G annually containing details of payments made by them to third parties for services provided.

For individuals / persons (other than companies) the return should include payments made

1. in the twelve month period to 31st December each year or
2. up to the date on which accounts of the trade or profession are normally prepared

The Form 46G must be filed on or before 31st October of the following year.

For companies, the Form 46G should cover all relevant payments in an accounting period and be submitted no later than 9 months following the end of the relevant accounting period.

A non-compliant taxpayer (i.e. where a taxpayer fails to deliver a true and correct return) may be liable to a penalty of €3,000. In addition to which a tax clearance certificate may not be granted and tax refunds may be withheld.

Details of payments must be returned where the total amount paid to one individual or company in the year exceeds €6,000.

Relevant payments include:

• Payments for services provided in connection with the trade, profession, business etc.
• Payments for services provided in connection with the formation, acquisition, development or disposal of the trade or business
• Periodical or lump sum payments made in respect of any copyright.

Revenue provides a list of services that must be specifically disclosed. This list should be reviewed prior to filing a Form 46G on an annual basis.

The following categories of services were recently added:

• Call Centre/Customer Service
• Childcare
• Fitness, Sport & Leisure Services
• Fleet Management Services
• Health & Safety Services
• HR/Recruitment Services
• Internet & Information Technology related services (including website design or re-design, cloud services etc.)
• Landscaping/Gardening/Horticulture
• Marketing /Business Analysis
• Printing & Publishing
• Research

Certain payments are not required to be disclosed such as:

• Payments for essential services/utilities such as electricity, gas and telephone
• Payments from which income tax has been deducted
• Payments from which withholding tax has been deducted.  This includes payments which are subject to PAYE, fees paid subject to withholding tax, payments subject to Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT), etc.
• Payments to non-residents
• Payments for services where the value of any goods provided as part of the service exceeds two thirds of the total charge

For further details, please follow the link:

https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-38/38-03-13.pdf