rent allowance

giftgrub

A mate in worl told me i could claim tax relief on my rent regardless of how much i earn, he also said i could claim rent allowance going back a couple of years and get a lump sum

is that true? and if it is how does it work?

spongebob

office form tax fill out in

give your applicable landlord RSI number for the years in question, thats the complex bit.

shoegirl

You can get a small bit added to your tax free allowance if you get the forms filled in. You need your landlord to sign it off and thats the catch since a large percentage of landlords are born again tax dodgers (many of them sanctimonious gits in well paid public service jobs who moan about the self employed).

I get it and it works out at about €20 or so per month for a standard rate taxpayer like me. Its not much but think of it as a couple of extra hot meals or almost the cost of renting a telephone for a month.

If you've been living in the same place for a few years you might be able to back claim - as far as I know its back paid on the last years rent anyway.

Meh

Originally posted by shoegirl
You can get a small bit added to your tax free allowance if you get the forms filled in. You need your landlord to sign it off ...

No, you just need their name, address and RSI number to claim the relief, no need to get them to sign anything. (You only need a receipt signed by the landlord if the revenue actually ask you for it (and they've never asked me)). Basically, you get paid €250 for filling out a one-page form -- it's a pretty good deal if you ask me.

http://www.oasis.gov.ie/housing/renting_a_flat_or_house/tax_relief_for_tenants.html?search=tax+relief

Victor

Originally posted by Meh
No, you just need their name, address and RSI number to claim the relief

Actually you don't need their RSI / PPS number, just give the revenue enough information to indentify them.

It may not provide any benefit to those on very low (€5,000-€10,000) earnings who aren't paying tax in the first place.

The form you fill out is RENT1.

Jokah

I want to claim rent relief and to be honest I am told by my mates that I should tell the Landlord I am doing it....I have left the house and everything was in order etc.

Now I rang the revenue people and yes like Victor pointed out you do not have to provide rev with the landlord's RSI number.

So morals is the issue here. Do I send the letter in and claim my 256euro or consult my friends. To be honest I dont like the old landlord and couldnt give a monkeys really. and its my RIGHT to do it...

As someone said earlier most of the landlords are tax dodgers anyway....

Victor

You have no responsibility to a tax dodger.

On the flip side, you could be just claiming your legimate allowance from a compliant landlord.

Jokah

Well when I asked the Landlord about getting his PRSI number he was visible moved and then talked cra!p about restructuring of companies etc etc...it was so funny to see his face...

Anyway I left him a voice message saying that we were going ahead with it and if he had any gripes he was to ring me..

So I've applied for rent relief and the old landlord knows about it...

How far back can you claim? Can you claim as a student even though your parents were helping you out to pay the rent?

Victor

Originally posted by XPThink
How far back can you claim? Can you claim as a student even though your parents were helping you out to pay the rent?

You can claim back for every year you have worked up to 6 years back. It is only worth your while in years where you paid tax.

sceptre

Originally posted by XPThink
Well when I asked the Landlord about getting his PRSI number he was visible moved and then talked cra!p about restructuring of companies etc etc...it was so funny to see his face.../B]

Heh

"Restructuring of companies" eh?

If there's a worse excuse for not handing over a personal RSI/PPS number I can't think of it.

(edit)
Oops, thought of one:
"PPS number? Er, my dog ate it"
(/edit)

Jokah

Anyway I still haven't heard from him and I told him what we were doing.

So great....He obviously doesn't care.....I did tell him Revenue would find out his PRSI number anyway so......

JJSolutions

Can anyone explain to me what the following means - its on the link above

Landlords that live outside Ireland

If your landlord lives outside Ireland and you pay rent directly to them or to their bank account located in Ireland or abroad, you must deduct tax at the standard rate (20%) from the gross amount which you pay.
Example

My landlord lives in Germany and I pay them gross rent per month of 500 euro. (500 euro x 20% = 100 euro). I now deduct 100 euro from the gross rent I pay (500 euro - 100 euro = 400 euro). My rent therefore is 400 euro per month.

If you are a PAYE employee and are paying rent to a landlord living outside Ireland, you account for the tax you deduct by applying for a tax credit and completing Form Rent 1 (see how to apply)

Failing to deduct tax from rent you pay to a landlord living outside Ireland will mean that you (and not the landlord) will be liable for any tax which should have been deducted.

sunbeam

I used to live in a house owned by a landlord living overeseas and not declaring their income for tax here.

Somehow Revenue found out about this-maybe an ex-tenant claimed rent relief, we don't know. We got a lovely letter from Revenue's 'Special Investigations' Department addressed to 'The Occupants' enquiring about how many people lived in the house.

The landlord was irate and convinced that we claimed rent allowance. This couldn't have been further from the truth-the rent was low and we weren't going to do anything that might lead to it being raised. Revenue chased him for tax and hastened his decision to sell the house.

Of the eight rented houses I've lived in since I was eighteen only one landlord was registered. In that case that only happened because ex-tenants claimed rent allowance and Revenue chased her. I was reluctant to claim rent allowance even then for fear it might cause trouble in future rented accommodation when the Revenue enquired as to why I wasn't still claiming it. And they did enquire many times when I rang about tax matters. I have friends whose rent was increased dramatically or in one case were turfed out because they did so.

Jokah

Im still a little confused....

Let me read back over what you wrote. Its still early on a friday morn....

De Rebel

Form 1 available here

shoegirl

If the landlord does not pay tax then its his/her problem if he starts getting hassle from Revenue. And under the new legislation there should be lots of new ways to control this sector.

Judging by the fact that 1/3 of all tenants receive SWA rent subsidies, I would guess that at least 1/3 pay tax. Thats not your problem. I say claim for it and deny all knowledge if the landlord comes back to you . . .

In fairness the overseas rule is very amibiguous and a lot of landlords probably don't know about it. However they may be declaring their Irish income (its unlikely though). One of the things I've noticed now that rents are sky high is that many more landlords ARE paying tax as if they get caught its no longer a case of just a few thousand a year. (Most landlords I know seem to have at least 2 houses and earn at least €25000 a year from it. If they get caught they will get a nasty sting.)