Sunny money makers: How to make your summers worthwhile

Here are six summer money makers that could be the key to taking the rest of the year off — or working a little less on the shorter and colder days.

1 house by the sea

“Real wealth is not having to show up for work every day — but to be in that position you generally have to have wealth,” said Gavin Duffy, the The Dragon’s Lair Star and Managing Director of Gavin Duffy & Associates.

One such asset could be a second home. A picture perfect seafront home along the Wild Atlantic Way could fetch you €1,500 a week in the summer months if you rent this property out to tourists.

You may even be able to earn more – for example, some rental companies offer rates from €3,000 per week for luxury holiday home rentals in Dingle.

So if you own a second home in a picturesque seaside location and manage to rent it out continuously for three months over the summer, you could make €12,000 (before expenses and taxes).

While this probably isn’t enough to take the rest of the year off, it would certainly be an avenue worth exploring if you could rent that property at other times throughout the year, or if you have multiple properties to rent would you like to make most or all of your money over the summer.

In this case, however, make sure that you meet your tax obligations as well as the regulations on short-term and holiday rentals.

2 converted motorhome

The lack of affordable accommodation in Ireland this summer could present you with a good money-making opportunity – if you’re crafty.

“People buy old vans, turn them into RVs and rent them out,” Duffy said.

You can make €1,000 a week or more (before costs and taxes) renting out a converted motorhome this summer.

“Some people are doing quite well because of the high hotel costs and lack of housing,” Duffy said. “This summer is a boom time for RV rentals and you could make money all year round.”

Depending on the time of year, you can make anywhere from €300 to €450 or more renting out a converted camper van over a bank holiday weekend.

3 Deep cleaning of the roof

Removing moss from tiled roofs is a tedious and time-consuming job as much of this work is usually done by hand. However, they could charge €850 (plus VAT) to clean someone’s roof – including the cost of treating the roof with a solution that keeps the roof moss-free.

Establishing yourself in this area will be expensive initially as you will need the right equipment, insurance and training, but once you have established yourself and built up clients this could prove to be a handy earner.

Roof cleaning jobs are typically done in the summer because it’s easier to get the job done when the weather is dry and warm—and when the days are long. Since it is time consuming, it can easily take a whole day to clean one person’s roof, depending on the size of the roof and the amount of work involved. But if you could make €850 a day for most of the summer, you could potentially make enough to take the rest of the year off.

You may also be able to expand into other deep cleaning services. “There’s a lot of demand for people spraying patios at this time of year and whatnot,” Duffy said.

4 Green Thumbs

You could make 70 per cent of your annual income in the summer working in garden maintenance, landscaping or growing bedding plants, according to Cork gardening expert Peter Dowdall.

“Landscapers do a lot of work in the summer because a lot of their work is weather dependent,” said Dowdall, who works as a garden designer and consultant.

“Between May 1st and the end of July is the time for bedding plant growers – in a good year they would make a lot of money in the summer months. If it rains in the summer, they won’t do as well.”

Even if you make 70 percent of your annual income in the summer, gardening is a low-paying job, Dowdall added.

A local one-man show bedding plant grower who supplies garden centers in his area can only make a profit of $20,000 to $30,000 a year after expenses, according to garden sources.

As a gardener, you won’t typically make more than $500-$600 a week – although you could make more if you’re self-employed and specialize in garden maintenance and small garden projects.

On the retail side of the business, those who operate retail nurseries can expect annual sales of 60 to 70 percent from March through May, according to Dowdall.

While gardeners are usually at their busiest in the summer, they often cannot afford to rest for the other seasons of the year.

“Gardening is actually two jobs — you make a lot of money in the spring and summer months,” Dowdall said.

“However, the fall and winter months prepare you for spring and summer. The design and consulting side of gardening is a 12 month job a year and is less weather dependent than other gardening jobs.”

Add custom drystone crafts to your gardening bow and you could make good money building moon gates, fire pits, and seating areas in people’s gardens – if you can attract some wealthy clients.

5 wedding singers

With summer being the peak season for weddings, wedding bands and singers certainly cannot afford to take the summer off.

The average amount couples spend on a wedding ring is now €2,232, according to weddingsonline.ie.

Some bands charge more than that. So if you’re a wedding band that gets busy during the summer – both weekdays and weekends – you could be making the bulk of your money for the year during the sunny season.

6 bean and ti

A Bean an Tí could make about $7,000 tax-free in three weeks by hosting 12 Gaeltacht students in their home.

A Gaeltacht course typically lasts for either two or three weeks, and as courses run for most of the summer, a Bean an Tí could make €12,000 or more over the summer depending on how many weeks they host students.

“For many bean tí, income from hosting Gaeltacht students is one of their main sources of income, as a lack of local employment opportunities may leave them unemployed for the rest of the year,” said Maria Nic Dhonncha. a bean tí in Leitir Moir, a Gaeltacht village in Co Galway.

According to Nic Dhonncha, the rising cost of living will take away a large chunk of bean an tí’s made money this summer.

“The money made by Bean An Tí must cover all student accommodation costs,” said Nic Dhonncha.

“They provide the students with four meals a day. You have to heat the water to shower. You use fuel to cook. You have to do the laundry.”

Money earned from the bean an tí fills gaps in household income for the year.

“You wouldn’t make enough money for the whole year as a Bean an Tí,” said Nic Dhonncha.

“Being Bean an tí is very hard work, but it’s a lot of fun and very rewarding. We are delighted that Irish universities are open again [after Covid].The students experience so much in college and it’s nice to hear how they’re developing.”

7 Pay attention to the income

Make sure you declare any income you make from renting out a second home (or even your own home) to tourists – and pay any income taxes due.

“While IRS doesn’t consider income from short-term guests to be rental income, you still must declare the income and pay any income taxes, Universal Social Charge (USC) and PRSI that are due on the profits you make,” Cróna Clohisey said. Head of Tax and Public Order at Chartered Accountants Ireland. “But first you need to determine if you write letters occasionally or rent the property out regularly over the summer.”

The extent to which you can deduct expenses from your income tax bill – and thereby reduce the amount of tax you have to pay on that income – depends on whether you’re in regular business or not.

“When you’re running a business, the rules apply [around tax-deductible expenses] are more generous,” Clohisey said. “Expenses such as insurance, property maintenance, painting, decoration and minor repairs are allowed [to be written off your tax bill] and even the cost of beds and furniture can be deducted over eight years. Unfortunately the rules for occasional letters are not so good and only expenses such as cleaning fees, commissions paid to online booking sites, breakfast costs and heat and electricity consumed by guests are allowed.”

You are not eligible for the room rent exemption (which allows you to earn up to €14,000 per year tax-free by renting out a room in your home) if you rent it out to short-term guests.

Stay to the right of the Tax Man when renting property to tourists

Make sure you declare any income you make from renting out a second home (or even your own home) to tourists – and pay any income taxes due.

“While IRS doesn’t consider income from short-term guests to be rental income, you still must declare the income and pay any income taxes, Universal Social Charge (USC) and PRSI that are due on the profits you make,” Cróna Clohisey said. Head of Tax and Public Order at Chartered Accountants Ireland. “But first you need to determine if you write letters occasionally or rent the property out regularly over the summer.”

The extent to which you can deduct expenses from your income tax bill – and thereby reduce the amount of tax you have to pay on that income – depends on whether you’re in regular business or not.

“When you’re running a business, the rules apply [around tax-deductible expenses] are more generous,” Clohisey said. “Expenses such as insurance, property maintenance, painting, decoration and minor repairs are allowed [to be written off your tax bill] and even the cost of beds and furniture can be deducted over eight years. Unfortunately the rules for occasional letters are not so good and only expenses such as cleaning fees, commissions paid to online booking sites, breakfast costs and heat and electricity consumed by guests are allowed.”

You are not eligible for the room rent exemption (which allows you to earn up to €14,000 per year tax-free by renting out a room in your home) if you rent it out to short-term guests.