Revenue recently announced that they will only be using electronic payment methods to make tax refunds.
They have already been doing this in the case of Corporation Tax and VAT, but this is now being expanded to the following areas:
- Income Tax
- Employers PAYE/PRSI
- Relevant Contracts Tax
- Customs & Excise Duties
- Vehicle Registration Tax
- Capital Gains Tax
- Excise Licence
- Capital Acquisitions Tax
- Professional Services Withholding Tax
- Environmental Levy
- Dividend Withholding Tax
- Betting Duty
The change is in line with the Tax Returns and Payments (Mandatory Electronic Repayment) Regulations 2016. These regulations stipulate that after 3 May 2016 tax repayments are to be made by electronic means.
Action Point
For most taxpayers this shouldn’t create a problem. But, it would be good to login to ROS and check that the bank account details Revenue hold are correct, and update them if necessary.
To do this, go to Manage Bank Accounts on the My Services homepage and select Manage EFT in the Refunds section. You’ll need your BIC and IBAN. You’ll also need to be aware that the bank account must be held in a bank that is within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) zone.
This is the only way you should update your bank details. Never respond to an email that appears to be from Revenue asking for bank details. Revenue would never request bank details in a standard email, so any such email will only be from fraudsters