Over 300,000 have yet to apply for a new renter tax credit

ONLY a fraction of people who are eligible for the new rental loan have made a claim.

So far, only 78,000 tenants have taken out the loan announced in the last budget.

The government has estimated around 400,000 people are eligible to claim them.

It’s worth up to €500 per single tenant or €1,000 per year for a couple.

It was introduced to ease the pressure from record high housing costs.

However, a poll released earlier this month by Taxback.com found a widespread lack of public awareness of the tax break.

According to Revenue, the big change from last September’s budget was the introduction of the rental tax credit in the budget.

“Unlike normal changes to the budget tax credit, which apply for the following year, this credit applies retrospectively to 2022 and can be claimed on an income tax return for the tax year 2022.”

According to the tax office, the value of the credit is up to 500 euros per year for individual taxpayers and up to 1,000 euros per year for spouses or life partners who are filing jointly.

“Of the tax returns received so far for 2022, around 78,400 applications have been made for a rental tax credit.”

She added that by the middle of next month, she expects taxpayers to be able to claim this year’s rental tax credit in real time via the Manage Taxes option in myAccount.

The Taxback.com poll found nearly seven in 10 people are unaware of the rental loan, which was introduced late last year to help these renters, the poll found.

This is despite rising rents and a chronic housing shortage that is financially crippling renters across the country.

Latest data from Daft.ie showed that statewide rents have soared 14 percent in the past year, the faster rate of increase since 2006.

Marian Ryan, excise tax manager at Taxback.com, said Irish taxpayers have historically been “below average” when it comes to claiming revenue.

In an update on tax returns filed by PAYE workers, Revenue said that more than 370,000 tax returns have been processed in relation to PAYE taxpayers who have already filed their 2022 returns.

That is more than 30 percent more than in the same period last year.

About 275,000 of those tax returns resulted in an overpayment of taxes, and 193 million euros have already been returned to individuals’ bank accounts as a result, the tax agency said.

Revenue National PAYE Manager Aisling Ní Mhaoileoin said all PAYE taxpayers now have access to their 2022 preliminary financial statements in myAccount.

She said the statement will give them reassurance about their pay, tax credits and overall tax position for the year.

This allows taxpayers to correct or amend information in their records for the year of revenue. “The statement is easily accessible and easy to understand, and employees are encouraged to review the information contained therein for completeness and accuracy as soon as possible.”

She said the IRS found that 62 percent of employees appeared to have paid the correct amount of income tax and USC for 2022.

And she added that around 82 per cent of workers have a year-end interim position that is either balanced, underpaid or overpaid by less than €200 before filing their return.