How much rent relief?

mathie

Hi
Im single, under 55, been renting since last June.
How much rent relief will I get for 2006?
Just want to see if it's worth going to the hassle of claiming it!
Thanks
M

The_Conductor

mathie wrote:

Hi
Im single, under 55, been renting since last June.
How much rent relief will I get for 2006?
Just want to see if it's worth going to the hassle of claiming it!
Thanks
M

You are entitled to relief on the first 1650 of rent paid in 2006 at the standard rate of tax (i.e. 20%) so your relief is worth Euro 330. To claim it you need to complete tax form entitled "Rent 1". Its definitely worth claiming it......

Note: Rent relief increased in the budget for 2007 to relief on the first 1800 (again at 20%) so for this year it will be worth 360 Euro.

ixoy

One thing that's not too clear is how to work it if you change rented accomodation during the year. The forms (online) allow for one address only - what if you've two?

[Edit]You know I shouldn't be so lazy about this given I work beside the guys who are among the country's foremost experts[/Edit]

mathie

Thanks!

Anyone know how long it takes from claim to payment?

Cheers
M

~Leanne~

Took mine 2 months and i got 270e back for renting 9 months in 2005. Was put into my bank a/c

The_Conductor

mathie wrote:

Thanks!

Anyone know how long it takes from claim to payment?

Cheers
M

Depends on the time of the year that you claim it- August/Sept/Oct would be a bad time- it should be quiet enough now though. I'd guess a few weeks.

Keith C

Do you have to provide a proof or anything? Im in an owner occupied house & just pay directly into his bank account, no lease or receipt book or anything like that.
Can I still claim just giving his PPS number??

mathie

Keith C wrote:

Do you have to provide a proof or anything? Im in an owner occupied house & just pay directly into his bank account, no lease or receipt book or anything like that.
Can I still claim just giving his PPS number??

I'm not sure.
My landlord was fine about giving me his details.
Even said he'd post of the forms for me!
But what if he didn't provide his PPS number?
anyone had bad experiences?
M

The_Conductor

Keith C wrote:

Do you have to provide a proof or anything? Im in an owner occupied house & just pay directly into his bank account, no lease or receipt book or anything like that.
Can I still claim just giving his PPS number??

No proof necessary. As your in an owner-occuppied house, the owner is most probably making use of the rent-a-room scheme, which means you are not a tenant, but living with him/her 'under licence' and are not covered under the normal tenancy rules. You are however still entitled to claim rent-relief from the Revenue Commissioners. Simply fill out form Rent 1 leaving blank any sections for which you do not have the information. It may take slightly longer to process, but will be done in due course.

Ps- for the owners sake he/she should have been declaring your income to the Revenue Commissioners in an annual tax return. Its non-taxable providing gross income from the person(s) taking the room(s) does not exceed E7620. I would suggest you alert the owner to the fact that you are seeking the relief, in order to allow them to get their tax affairs in order, if they are not already in order.

Keith C

Thanks for the info, yeah we've talked bout it, rent is under the €7k allowence so it wont cause him any problems.

mathie

smccarrick wrote:

No proof necessary.

So anyone can claim off anyone else with a house?

Isn't that a bit open for dodgy claims?

M

The_Conductor

mathie wrote:

So anyone can claim off anyone else with a house?

Isn't that a bit open for dodgy claims?

M

No. Obviously the owner of the house would be immediately contacted, particularly if he/she did not declare the rental income in an annual tax return. If it was determined that the person making the claim had put in a false claim then he/she would be pursued by the Revenue Commissioners for the full amount + penalties and would have a criminal conviction (and be listed as having made a settlement with the Revenue Commissioners in Iris Oifigiul). Said person would be barred from travelling to the US or Australia and barred from ever going for a job in the public sector anywhere in the EU. The penalties associated with making a false claim are such that no-one in their right mind would even contemplate it.

The_Conductor

Keith C wrote:

Thanks for the info, yeah we've talked bout it, rent is under the €7k allowence so it wont cause him any problems.

Keith- remind him that irrespective of whether its under the threshold or not, that he *must* declare the income to the Revenue Commissioners. The fact that its under the threshold simply means it does not incur any tax.

BC

ixoy wrote:

One thing that's not too clear is how to work it if you change rented accomodation during the year. The forms (online) allow for one address only - what if you've two?

You need to fill out two forms. Put an end date on the first form.

Keith C

smccarrick wrote:

Keith- remind him that irrespective of whether its under the threshold or not, that he *must* declare the income to the Revenue Commissioners. The fact that its under the threshold simply means it does not incur any tax.

If he hasnt declared it and does now, room is rented nearly 2 years, is there a penalty incurred for him? I never knew bout the rent a room scheme before reading bout it on boards & dont think he knew much about it either.

The_Conductor

Keith C wrote:

If he hasnt declared it and does now, room is rented nearly 2 years, is there a penalty incurred for him? I never knew bout the rent a room scheme before reading bout it on boards & dont think he knew much about it either.

Its my understanding that he can make a declaration to the Revenue Commissioners along with a retrospective tax return. Its a bit messy. One of the things with the Rent-a-room scheme is you have to make an annual personal tax return, irrespective of whether you are a PAYE employee or not. Quite a few people don't bother- normally because their rental income is above the threshold and they reckon that they will only be drawing attention to it. Thats a mistake though- if a lodger were to make a refund request at some point in the future and the owner did not have documentation to backup receipts and had not made a return- obviously there would be trouble.

ronbyrne2005

If one is claiming this relief from living at home and paying parent rent every week does the parent have to register or claim rent a room relief? My brother has been working for last four years and paying parents 50euro rent a week plus other expenses. Will parent be in trouble if brother claims the rent relief and parents sign the forms ?

The_Conductor

ronbyrne2005 wrote:

If one is claiming this relief from living at home and paying parent rent every week does the parent have to register or claim rent a room relief? My brother has been working for last four years and paying parents 50euro rent a week plus other expenses. Will parent be in trouble if brother claims the rent relief and parents sign the forms ?

I think they have closed the loophole whereby children could give their parents a contribution towards household bills- it was to have been closed last year. In any event- the parents would have had to have been declaring the income in an annual tax return. The whole sum would have had to have been declared. Providing it was under the threshold, it would have been non-taxable.

Providing your parents claimed the income, and the loophole has not been closed, then there should not be an issue.

If your parents were not making annual tax returns- they could make retrospective returns. P60s and all other documentation would be required.

There are a few things your parents would have to check.......

minnie_mouse

I asked my landlord about this and he said he wasnt registred or registred late forget which he said but what he usualy does for the tennants is give them a cheque for 200euro it would seem I would get more if I went the legal route. I pay 866 amonth and have been renting a year

Victor

ixoy wrote:

One thing that's not too clear is how to work it if you change rented accomodation during the year. The forms (online) allow for one address only - what if you've two?

If either of them exceeded 1800 euros, claim that one. If both exceeded 1800 euros, claim the later one.

ronbyrne2005

smccarrick wrote:

I think they have closed the loophole whereby children could give their parents a contribution towards household bills- it was to have been closed last year. In any event- the parents would have had to have been declaring the income in an annual tax return. The whole sum would have had to have been declared. Providing it was under the threshold, it would have been non-taxable.

Providing your parents claimed the income, and the loophole has not been closed, then there should not be an issue.

If your parents were not making annual tax returns- they could make retrospective returns. P60s and all other documentation would be required.

There are a few things your parents would have to check.......

The rent relief/rent a room loophole for people living at home with parents was closed in January after decembers budget. People can still claim (AFAIK) for years before this and their parents wont be penalised, they may have to submit a return relating to the rent a room relief but not penalties and the person who was paying the rent will get back 330 euro for each of the preceding years.