Tax rebate following maternity leave

Dahdum

Hi, would anyone be able to provide and idea of how much (%) tax I should expect to get back following unpaid maternity leave?

Went on leave in April of last yr returning to work in January of this yr. For 2020 i earned approx 34K and I paid approx 9k in tax.

I was of the assumption I’d get majority (not all) of it back. I know there’s a lot of factors to consider but looking for approximates on what either a) others who have been in the same position got - (say refunded 75% of tax paid), or b) anyone who works in tax sees ppl like me get.

Hopefully the above makes sense.

Thanks

cdeb

You won't get the majority of it back.

Say you had Nov/Dec as unpaid leave, then you should have Nov/Dec's tax credits to claim. I don't know what they are, but typically it's €275/month or so in tax credits, and some of your income may also drop down to 20% from 40%

Don't forget you pay tax on maternity benefit; is that included in your 34k figure?

You can arrange a refund now online though - just log on to MyAccount, request a Statement of Account, and it will re-calculate your tax and generate the refund. You can do this within a couple of weeks of the year-end (ie mid January onwards). That will give you the best answer!

Dahdum

Thanks cdeb,

A number of weeks were covered by annual leave accrued, but not all so there was some unpaid leave. And no, the benefit isn’t included in the 34 - so I guess realistically it is about €41 for the year.

cdeb

OK - so the higher salary will mean that more income will fall from 40% to 20%, which is good in terms of getting tax back. But on the flip side, less unpaid leave is bad in terms of getting tax back.

But the quickest and easiest way - which you're going to have to do anyway - is to just request your refund and see what you get.

If you were on unpaid leave in Jan of this year, you should have a refund at the end of this year as well.

Dahdum

Thanks again cdeb.

To add some context to my question - my husband and I are jointly assessed. Last yr his employer placed him on the TWSS, incorrectly, in order to save himself some €€. We know this as he was paying a top up to my husband separately. As the individual is liable for the unpaid tax, when we submitted our balancing statement earlier this yr, the tax I thought I’d get back was consumed by the tax he hadn’t paid due to the TWSS, and we ended up owing a small amount to revenue.

We spoke to revenue and spoke to an accountant about it but not a whole lot that can be done. After a lot of wrangling, his employer agreed to pay an agreed amount back to my husband in cash. I’ve always maintained that I think he’s pulling a fast one (again) and that we’re being short changed but we’ve actually no way to prove it. And I’ve nothing other than ‘I think’ to go on.

Will just have to accept the €€ given and smile through gritted teeth…….(and convince my husband to try find a new job).

Thanks again for your input.