Teachers' Flat Rate Expenses: claim them

gaiscioch · 20-03-2015 6:45pm #1

I got my P60 for last year a month or so ago. On Monday this week I went on to PAYE Anytime and claimed my Flate Rate Expenses (€518, or €644 if you do PE or Career Guidance with it), which all teachers are entitled to claim. Yesterday, three days later (impressive), the Revenue dropped €170 into my bank account. You can claim for a few years past but no more. You also seem to have to make sure you notify them each year of your right to the same FRE (I had assumed it would carry over into each tax year from my initial claim a few years ago, but it didn't).

The younger teachers in my staff room appear to be unaware of Flat Rate Expenses (I think it used to be called the clothing allowance or some such).

Flat Rate Expenses

Question: With both tax relief on union fees and Teaching Council fees no longer in existence, is there anything beside the Flat Rate Expenses that we are entitled to actually get back from our great leaders?

TheDriver · 20-03-2015 6:48pm

I get it automatically every year. Nothing else to claim bar med etc

killbillvol2 · 20-03-2015 11:08pm

You can go back four years. It should stay with you unless you change job.

seavill · 20-03-2015 11:46pm

When did the TC disappear, I claimed back 4 years of TC just before Christmas. I was too close to Christmas to claim the 4th year so they sorted it in January for me.

Having to claim the same thing every year is crazy

gaiscioch · 21-03-2015 9:36am

seavill wrote: »

When did the TC disappear, I claimed back 4 years of TC just before Christmas. I was too close to Christmas to claim the 4th year so they sorted it in January for me.

Having to claim the same thing every year is crazy

Apparently it is part of the above Flat Rate Expenses now but the FRE has not increased from the €518 so I concluded they in reality abolished it by "adding it" and deducting the FRE by precisely the same amount.

"Income tax relief on the Teaching Council's annual registration renewal fee remains in place. The tax credit is added to the teacher's flat rate expense allowance." (http://www.asti.ie/pay-and-conditions/pay/taxation/)

On that link it says about the FRE "The above should be claimed at the end of each tax year."

doc_17 · 23-03-2015 11:35am

Why do guidance counsellors get a higher allowance?

mark11original · 15-06-2015 1:02pm

Can teachers still claim for teaching council tax relief?

Moody_mona · 15-06-2015 1:21pm

mark11original wrote: »

Can teachers still claim for teaching council tax relief?

Yes

killbillvol2 · 15-06-2015 4:48pm

mark11original wrote: »

Can teachers still claim for teaching council tax relief?

Moody_mona wrote: »

Yes

How? There's no option for it online.

mark11original · 15-06-2015 5:25pm

http://www.asti.ie/pay-and-conditions/pay/taxation/ Have a look at that link, I found it in the meantime on the asti website. "The tax credit is added to the teachers flat rate expense allowance" so I presume they have upped the flat rate expenses to include it.

Moody_mona · 15-06-2015 5:36pm

When you log into your PAYE anytime there's a list of your incomes and your credits. You'll already have paye tax credit and maybe more, flat rate expenses should be there too, just select it and add it to your requests on the right hand side.

mirrorwall14 · 26-07-2015 10:49pm

Guys just to update this, I've had flatrate expenses listed on my PAYE form for years but I never checked the amount. Turns out I've been underclaiming (only 90e instead of the 518 odd it should be). Do log into your PAYE anytime and check what it is listed as!

mirrorwall14 · 26-07-2015 11:20pm

By the way does anyone know if you can work out what you get back from setting up a claim or is it just a matter of waiting for it to arrive to see what you get? Like if my tax credit is increased from 90 to 518 and I'm in the top tax band is there a way to know what I'd be getting back?

evolving_doors · 27-07-2015 2:11am

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Guys just to update this, I've had flatrate expenses listed on my PAYE form for years but I never checked the amount. Turns out I've been underclaiming (only 90e instead of the 518 odd it should be). Do log into your PAYE anytime and check what it is listed as!

Cool just checked it and I've been getting 475!!! and it should be 518... where the heck did the 475 come from though?

mirrorwall14 · 27-07-2015 10:00am

Gebgbegb wrote: »

Cool just checked it and I've been getting 475!!! and it should be 518... where the heck did the 475 come from though?

Not a clue. I'm the same, I claimed it over the phone-no idea where the hell they got 90 from!

evolving_doors · 27-07-2015 1:59pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Not a clue. I'm the same, I claimed it over the phone-no idea where the hell they got 90 from!

MAybe they've factored in the teaching council amt!

man_no_plan · 29-07-2015 3:02pm

Just looked on PAYE anytime - you can edit your flat rate expenses which will update the amount of the credit. Mine was 492 but updated to 518 when I went in and edited it

mirrorwall14 · 29-07-2015 3:22pm

man_no_plan wrote: »

Just looked on PAYE anytime - you can edit your flat rate expenses which will update the amount of the credit. Mine was 492 but updated to 518 when I went in and edited it

Yeah I did the same!

2011abc · 29-07-2015 7:19pm

There seems to be a new stunt in Revenue now whereby if you claim for something they 'find' twice as much that you owe them !Cynical of me ?They only seek what theyre due , no more , no less?Yeah right, and they wouldnt make it as difficult as possible for the elderly, sick, carers etc to claim their entitlements and expect people to wait months if not years .

Grueller · 29-07-2015 10:54pm

2011abc wrote: »

There seems to be a new stunt in Revenue now whereby if you claim for something they 'find' twice as much that you owe them !Cynical of me ?They only seek what theyre due , no more , no less?Yeah right, and they wouldnt make it as difficult as possible for the elderly, sick, carers etc to claim their entitlements and expect people to wait months if not years .

Have to say I cannot agree. My wife is paye and I am self employed. We are jointly assessed so ona bad year for me we sometimes get a rebate. When our accounts are submitted we get a cheque within a week. They are very efficient at both getting their own money and also at giving yours back.

mirrorwall14 · 29-07-2015 11:00pm

Yeah a bit cynical I think 2011abc, I'm getting a refund too

Alqua · 29-07-2015 11:41pm

2011abc wrote: »

There seems to be a new stunt in Revenue now whereby if you claim for something they 'find' twice as much that you owe them !Cynical of me ?

I logged in to investigate and put in a request for flat rate expenses for 2013. Next thing I had an amended USC statement for 2013 stating that I had underpaid by 200+ euro and they would be taking it during the coming year - and no sign of the flat rate expenses! Think that has put me off trying to claim anything!!

gaiscioch · 30-07-2015 12:05am

Alqua wrote: »

Next thing I had an amended USC statement for 2013 stating that I had underpaid by 200+ euro and they would be taking it during the coming year - and no sign of the flat rate expenses! Think that has put me off trying to claim anything!!

hehe. Need thread title change - Teachers' Flat Rate Expenses: do not claim them

mirrorwall14 · 30-07-2015 9:14am

Can I ask has anyone got an updated tax cert for 2015 (this year) after fixing the tax credit?

I'm trying to figure out if this is normal
1. Flat Rate Expenses showing under the box "Tax Credits" at 103.6
2. Flat Rate Expenses showing undre the box "Tax Rate bands" at 518

My cert is a bit screwy with maternity benefit so trying to ensure its all corrected now

Oh and I underpaid my USC in 2012 by..... 1c rofl

mirrorwall14 · 30-07-2015 9:17am

Oh and does anyone know if they automatically forward this to the employer or do I need to?!

Geuze · 30-07-2015 1:53pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Can I ask has anyone got an updated tax cert for 2015 (this year) after fixing the tax credit?

I'm trying to figure out if this is normal
1. Flat Rate Expenses showing under the box "Tax Credits" at 103.6
2. Flat Rate Expenses showing undre the box "Tax Rate bands" at 518

My cert is a bit screwy with maternity benefit so trying to ensure its all corrected now

Oh and I underpaid my USC in 2012 by..... 1c rofl

103.60 is one fifth, or 20%, of 518.

How they do it is complex............

They add 518 to your SRCOP, meaning on that extra 518, you pay 20% instead of 40% tax. So that's 20% saved.

The other saving is the extra tax credit of 20% of 518.

linguist · 31-07-2015 3:39pm

I just want to thank those who've contributed here since I got onto Revenue on the strength of it. I have to say they were incredibly efficient - the person I spoke to not only knew about the Teaching Council fee straight off but they knew exactly how much it was before and after 2013. I got a new tax credits certificate online this morning and a couple of new P21 balancing statements. When was the last time you got that service from your average private sector call centre?!

Just on the broader issue of overpayments and underpayments, there's no point complaining really. You're not entitled to underpay tax and they're not entitled to take more than you owe. The actual policy for PAYE workers is that if an underpayment is under €100, they let it go. If it's over €100, then they reduce your tax credits in the future. If you already had an uncleared underpayment in the year concerned, any money due as a result of Teaching Council registration merely reduces the underpayment owed which is perfectly logical.

They try to recoup the money in one year but they are also very decent about doing it over a longer period if it's a larger amount. Given that teachers are very much on Revenue's radar because of grinds in particular, you're far better off doing a tax return online (medical expenses etc) every year rather than waiting for them to ask you to do a Form 12 - which they can - and discovering something more unpleasant.

r93kaey5p2izun · 31-07-2015 7:39pm

Do your flat rate expenses show up as a tax credit? I checked on PAYE anytime and I am claiming the full €518.

On my monthly payslip my tax credit comes to €283.66 so that would give €3403.92 per year. If I was getting my standard tax credits of €3300 (PAYE and single person) and the €518 then should it not be €3818 per year and therefore €318.16 per month?

Or are the expenses subtracted at an earlier stage?

Thanks

linguist · 31-07-2015 7:55pm

No, they increase the cut off point at which you go from paying tax at the standard rate (20%) to the marginal rate (40%). Now refer to Geuze who has explained the bit about the tax credits shown on your tax credits certificate which I was having trouble working out!

r93kaey5p2izun · 31-07-2015 8:00pm

linguist wrote: »

No, they increase the cut off point at which you go from paying tax at the standard rate (20%) to the marginal rate (40%).

Ok, no idea where the extra €103 a year on my tax credits is coming from so. Oh dear.

linguist · 31-07-2015 8:03pm

Sorry Arlessienne, my edit and your follow up post seem to have met half way!

Teachers' Flat Rate Expenses: claim them

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