For the tax years 2008, 2009 and 2010, the exemption threshold for payment of the Health Levy was €26,000; this is €500 per week. If you earned more than €500 in any one week in the year, you would have been liable to the Health Levy but at the end of the year if your [...]

Irish businesses who supply goods to VAT registered customers in other EU Member States without charging Irish VAT are required to submit a VIES return each month/quarter. Many businesses are not aware that from 1 January 2010 this obligation was extended to the supply of services. VIES returns can be submitted either monthly or quarterly and [...]

If a company decides to implement the Bike to Work Scheme, remember the scheme cannot only be made available to the directors of the company, it must be made available to all employees of the company. VAT cannot be reclaimed by the company on the cost of the bikes or associated equipment i.e. helmets, pumps, [...]

The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, announced the Jobs Initiative on 11 May last which is designed to stimulate job creation. It includes the following measures in relation to business and employment taxes:   Abolition of employers PRSI on share based remuneration Temporarily halving the lower rate of employers PRSI for certain employees Amending the [...]

The Tax Saver Commuter Tickets from Luas offer tax savings for both employers and employees. The benefits include: Up to 52% travel cost savings for staff Up to 10.75% savings for employers on PRSI No more queues for Luas tickets Journeys are cheaper with prepaid tickets than with cash How it works: The cost of [...]

Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT) applies to payments made by a principal contractor to a subcontractor under a relevant contract in the construction, forestry or meat processing industry. The Finance Act 2011 has introduced changes to the operation of RCT and the key elements of same are as follows: Replacement of the current RCT rates of 0% and [...]

The tax free reimbursement of motor and subsistence expenses is becoming an area of increased focus for Revenue Audits and it is timely to revisit the fundamental rules relating to same. Basic Rules Where office holders and employees necessarily incur expenses of travel and subsistence (relating to the travel) in the performance of the duties of [...]

As you may be aware, the minimum wage for experienced adult workers will reduce to €7.65 per hour on 1 February 2011. An experienced adult worker is an employee who has any work experience in any two years after turning the age of 18. Employees currently on minimum wage The wage rate forms part of [...]

We are moving closer to the day when all tax returns are filed and paid online. From 1 June 2011 all companies, partnerships and individuals subject to the high earners restriction must file and pay returns online through Revenue Online Service (ROS) www.revenue.ie. From 1 October 2011, sole traders with more than 10 employees will need to [...]

Recent correspondence received from the Revenue Commissioners has advised that for a P35 refund to be processed, the P35 Return must be completed correctly. When completing a paper P35 return, even if it is obvious from the figures contained therein that a refund is due, a claim for a refund can only be processed when [...]