about tax matters...please help

questiongirl

hello , shame to say i don't know much about tax matters and need some advice here:)

Background:

I've been working & paying my tax via PAYE for the last 5 yrs until 30 June 2007.
After that , i took a few months off (ie between 1 July to 31 Dec 2007) not working.
From 1 Jan 2008, i started doing locum work on & off where i was paid wages without tax reduction and expected to declare myself. my locum work will continue until end July08.
From mid August 08, i'll be employed full time again.

My questions:

1. someone has told me that i can claim back the tax that i've paid in advance for the period between 1 July to 31 Dec07. is that true? is it too late to claim now? how do i go about that? what form do i need?

2. i haven't declared the tax for money i've earned (as locum) between 1 Jan 08 till now....how should i go about that? again which form do i need? is there a time limit to do this? what consequences are there if i don't declare or do it late?

3. my new employer has asked for my 'tax documents' so i won't be on emergency tax . i have P45 from last employer(dated 30 June 07) and tax credit certificate for year 2007. which one should i hand in? do i need a tx certificate for year 2008? can revenue give to me before i even sort out/declare my tax(refer question 2)

4. someone said if i've been working as locum/self employed from 1 Jan 08 to July 08 my tax credit should/might be higher....not sure what they meant by this. can anyone explain to me please?

Apologies for so many Q ...really appreciate your help & advice. Thanks!!

AOwannabe

Hello

The situation you describe seems complicated but here is my understanding:

1 - Because tax credits are cumulative (spread out over 12 months), and you didn't work between July 07 and Dec 2007, you can claim a refund on the tax paid between Jan 2007 and June 2007. To do this you need to fill out a Form P50 ( http://www.revenue.ie/forms/p50.pdf ) and send it to your local tax office together with your P45 parts 2 and 3.
Ideally this should have been done before 31 Dec 2007 but it's not too late yet.
NB - This depends on your tax credits being cumulative, some people are on what's called Week One basis and would not be entitled to a refund. You can check this by looking at your p45. There is a question on it which says - Week one basis? If the box is ticked that means you were.

2 - You must declare the income earned. You will have to fill out a Form 11 which can be complicated. You do not have to file this until October 2008.

3 - When you start a new job you usually hand in your p45 but because you have been in receipt of income since the leaving date on the p45 you should ask your new employer to fill out a form 12A (available from your employer) on your behalf. This form will ask about earnings from Jan 2008 to the date you started your new job so your locum earnings will come into play again here. That is another reason you must fill out the form 11 in October.

4 - This will be resolved when you fill out the form 12A. With reference to point 1, tax credits are cumulative so you might get the full 12 months credits but you could also be put on the week one basis.

Hope that helps.

yom 1

AOwannabe wrote: »

2 - You must declare the income earned. You will have to fill out a Form 11 which can be complicated. You do not have to file this until October 2008.

Just in regards to this. You will actualy have until 31st October 2009 to pay and file your return for income earned in 2008. The deadline of 31st Oct 2008 is for income earned in 2007. When you fill in your return for 2008 you will have to include any income earned in your new paye job for the rest of the year.

I would advise that you figure out now how much tax you owe from your locum work and set aside the sum now, so as to not forget about it and then get hit by a tax bill next year.

questiongirl

Thanks AOwannabe & Yom1 for taking yr time to answer my question, very much appreciated!