Rent Relief / Declare Rental Income

Jumanji

I currently rent a house of one of my best friends.
I don't know whether or not he declares his rental income.
I know he should & I don't know that he doesn't so lets not get into the wrongs & rights of this.

I'm thinking of applying for Rent Relief, but I'm afraid to ask him for his PPS number in case he isn't declaring the rental income & this puts him in a awkward position.

If I did give his PPS number (assuming he gave it to me) & claimed rent relief & he wasn't paying tax, would he then be caught?

Like I said, he could very well be paying the tax as he's generally very straight, I just wanted to know the answer to this before I potentially put him on the spot, as he is a best mate.

Thanks for your help.

dubgirl

I would imagine that he won't give you his PPS number if hes not paying tax anyway. So you might as well ask him and if he's not declaring then so be it maybe he'll give you a slight reduction in your rent if your a best mate. good luck with it anyway.

Jumanji

dubgirl wrote:

I would imagine that he won't give you his PPS number if hes not paying tax anyway.

Why? Would this mean he'd get caught?

You see, if it doesn't then I don't want to pry unnecessarily.

Beruthiel

Jumanji wrote:

If I did give his PPS number (assuming he gave it to me) & claimed rent relief & he wasn't paying tax, would he then be caught?

yes he would be caught.
what is your rent like? would he charge a stranger more? I imagine if he has to pay tax then the rent might go up to cover the tax.

he could very well be paying the tax as he's generally very straight.

if he's your best mate, I don't understand why you wouldn't just ask him

Jumanji

Thanks Beruthiel.

Yea, my rent seems to be a bit cheaper than a lot around me. I'd say that's because it's me who's renting.

He's a best mate, known him for years & know that he keeps private stuff private (generally). The only reason I know what rent he's getting for his property is because I'm the one paying it!!

Some people are just closed books when it comes to stuff like that I suppose.

Yea, maybe I'll say nothing in case he does have to up the rent (I'll be no better off anyway then.)

The_Conductor

Do you have a rent book etc. with all the details included in it? If not, he probably is not declaring the income.

The max you will get in relief is Euro 254- which while not massive, is not inconsiderable either. If he is your best mate it would probably be preferable to discuss this with him rather than taking any action which may get him into hot water.

MorningStar

You don't need his PP number unless you are claiming for years back. This year you don't need the number

SarahMc

If he is totally straight, your property will be registered here http://www.prtb.ie/pubreg.htm

Under the new Finance Act all legit landlords are obliged to register with the PRTB in order to offset their expenses against tax.

muffler

Jumanji wrote:

He's a best mate, known him for years

If you are that close cant see why you just cant go and ask him.

If he's not legit then you will get him into bother by giving his pps no.
If he is legit then you have nothing to worry about.

But what you need to watch out for is if you want to claim your rent relief and he says "fine but I will have to sort things out my end". Meaning that he is going to put his house in order (pardon the pun). In that scenario he may well put the rent up as he will be lable for tax on the income and you will end up paying a lot more in rent than what your rental credits would be worth.

LegacyUser

i'd talk to your mate first, unless he's renting out lots of properties, chances are he's not declaring the rent.

work out what your owed and ask him to cover it, or lower the rent a little, i'm sure it'll be a alot less than the fine and your friendship.

homerjk

Do you definitely not need the PPS number this year?
How does this work then? Do the revenue contact the landlord seperately and then he has to declare? Surely this would cause ructions!

muffler

homerjk wrote:

Do you definitely not need the PPS number this year?
How does this work then? Do the revenue contact the landlord seperately and then he has to declare? Surely this would cause ructions!

Anyone claiming tax relief/credits must include the landlords details including pps number on the claim form. This is obviously done prior to sending to the revenue offices

mikemac

muffler wrote:

Anyone claiming tax relief/credits must include the landlords details including pps number on the claim form. This is obviously done prior to sending to the revenue offices

Interesting. I rang the revenue regarding this very point last Thursday. There's a great thread in the work forum regarding claiming back tax which I hope you have all read.

I was asking the helpful lady in revenue could I claim rent relief for previous years. She said I could as far back as 2002.
When I said I didn't know my previous landlord's PPS numbers, I was told to fill up the form as best as I could and to make sure I included the landlords name and address. The revenue would match the landlords details to process the claim. I'm assuming the revenue have a database where they can easily do this.

I've dealt with my fair share of dodgy landlords and have little hesitation in claiming back the relief relief even if there's a chance that they may be liable to an investigation and a fine.

muffler

micmclo wrote:

Interesting. I rang the revenue regarding this very point last Thursday. There's a great thread in the work forum regarding claiming back tax which I hope you have all read.

I was asking the helpful lady in revenue could I claim rent relief for previous years. She said I could as far back as 2002.
When I said I didn't know my previous landlord's PPS numbers, I was told to fill up the form as best as I could and to make sure I included the landlords name and address. The revenue would match the landlords details to process the claim. I'm assuming the revenue have a database where they can easily do this.

I've dealt with my fair share of dodgy landlords and have little hesitation in claiming back the relief relief even if there's a chance that they may be liable to an investigation and a fine.

Thats interesting too. I know that there is part of the form where you are asked to fill in the landlords details. I only assumed that like a lot of these forms you are expected to have them fully completed as they (revenue)are liable to return them or say that blanks or scores or not acceptable.

Never knew that you could claim for previous years and I must get a look at the thread in the work forum.

sweetie

Isn't an owner-occupier entitled to earn up to 700 euro tax free anyways?

Victor

sweetie wrote:

Isn't an owner-occupier entitled to earn up to 700 euro tax free anyways?

Its about €7,000 under the Ren-a-Room Scheme. However teh owner needs to be resident, which I don't think he is.

rabbitinlights

I was in the Galway office today, you dont NEED the PPS number it just helps and makes things easy. Im back dating mine back to 2002, is there anyway to work out how much Ill be getting back?

S.

indiewindy

You should get over €1000 back into your handas you are claiming back the full 4 years .

Mezcita

Its been mentioned already but there is a great thread about claiming back tax due to you on the work forum.

To clarify this. Anyone who owns a property is entitled to earn 7620 euro per year tax free under the 'rent a room scheme' from renting out a room(s) in their home. As long as they do not earn more than this per year they do not have to legally declare themselves as landlords.

So to the OP, as long as your buddy who owns the house does not make more than this amount per year in rent from you or others you are fully entitled to submit a claim for rent relief.

Details here:
http://oasis.gov.ie/housing/renting_a_flat_or_house/tax_relief_for_tenants.html

Don't forget you can also claim back money for any medical expenses you may have paid out over the last few years.

Details here:
http://oasis.gov.ie/health/taxation_and_medical_expenses.html

Like I said, check out the work forum to see how much money people have been getting back!