Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP)

Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP). Income Tax Relief. Employee Tax Relief. Payroll Tax

There have been two updates to SARP legislation in the most recent Finance Act.  The Special Assignee Relief Programme is an Income Tax Relief aimed at employees who move to Ireland with their employer or with an associated company.  By way of background, SARP was first introduced in 2012. Where certain qualifying criteria are met, the assignee or secondee is entitled to a 30% deduction from employment income over €75,000.  Although this is an Income Tax Relief, the exemption does not extend to Universal Social Charge (USC) and PRSI.  SARP be claimed for five consecutive years in two way: (a) through an individual’s annual self assessment Income Tax Return or (b) through the employer’s payroll.

Revenue’s guidance on Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) has been updated to take into account the recent changes introduced by Finance Act 2018:

1. Details of the cap of €1 million introduced from 1st January 2019 for the years 2019 (for new entrants only) and 2020 (for all claimants).

A cap has been reintroduced on the amount of the employment income to which SARP relief can apply.

The upper income threshold of €1 million will apply to any relevant employee who first arrives in Ireland on or after 1st January 2019.

For the tax year 2020, the upper income threshold will apply to all relevant employees.

2. Clarification regarding the requirement to file Form SARP 1A within the 90 day time limit

From 1st January 2019 the time limit for the submission of the form SARP 1A will be extended from within 30 days of the date the employee first arrives in Ireland to carry out his/her employment duties to 90 days.

For further information, please click on the following link:

https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/income-and-employment/special-assignee-relief-programme/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.