Ireland Tax Refund FAQs

For people coming to Ireland soon…

If you're moving to Ireland to work and live, there are a few important things you need to know to make sure you start off on the right foot.

Once you start working you'll pay 20% income tax on earnings up to €35,400 and 41% on any earnings over that.

At the end of the tax year or when your leave Ireland permanently, taxback.com can claim back part, or all of what you've paid. Our customers get an average Irish tax refund of €840.

Our tax experts ensure all our tax returns are 100% compliant with Irish tax law and get you the maximum legal tax refund.

Register online with taxback.com today.

How can I set up an Irish bank account?

Banks in Ireland require proof of address, a letter of employment or a utility bill in your name in order for you to open an account with them. This can be very difficult if you've just arrived in the country and are still finding your feet.

Taxback.com is partnered with one of Ireland's biggest banks – Bank of Ireland – through our partner company Quickstart and can assist you in opening your account.

There is a fee of €30 for this service and assistance with your PPS number is included. Apply online for your Irish bank account and PPS pack today.

What is a PPS number?

A Personal Public Service (PPS) number is the unique reference number issued to you by the Department of Social and Family Affairs. It enables you to work, pay taxes and access public services in Ireland.

Your PPS number is used as a reference number for the benefits and tax credits system and is used for making tax deductions from your earnings. Without a PPS number you will pay tax at the emergency rate of 42%.

How can I get my PPS number?

You will need a PPS number to work and pay taxes in Ireland. Registering for a PPS number can be a time-consuming and complicated process – especially if you're new to Ireland and don't have a permanent address yet.

Taxback.com can assist you in getting your PPS number and Irish bank account through our partner company Quickstart Ireland. There is a fee of €30 for this service. Apply online today.

What do I do once I get to Ireland?

Arriving in a foreign country can be scary, but taxback.com's partner company Quickstart has an arrival pack to help you with everything you need to start working and living in Ireland. It includes:

• Arrival Orientation
• Assistance with opening an Irish bank account
• Assistance with PPS tax number
• Irish SIM card with €30 credit
• International Phone Card with 30 mins credit
• Dublin City Street Guide
• Irish 3 pronged electrical plug
• List of recommended Irish recruitment agencies and job sites

Our Irish Arrival Pack costs €75. Apply online for your arrival pack today.

What is a P45?

A P45 is the official tax form that you will get from your employer when you finish working for them. It will outline your earnings and the amount of taxes you paid for that employer. If you leave your job to start another one in Ireland, you'll need to give your P45 to your next employer so make sure you keep a copy for yourself. We'll need your P45 or your P60 to claim your Irish tax rebate.

What is a P60?

A P60 is the tax certificate you will receive from your employer in January after the tax year ends. It shows your earnings and tax paid in that tax year. We can use either your P60 or your P45 to claim your Irish tax refund.

How will I know if I'm PAYE or self-employed?

Whether you are employed (PAYE) or self-employed depends on the terms and conditions of your work.

If you work for someone else in Ireland, it is important to know whether you are working for that person in an employed or self-employed capacity, such as an independent subcontractor in construction. If you are employing other people, it is your responsibility to correctly determine their employment status too.

If you answer ‘yes' to the following questions, you are probably an employee/PAYE worker:

• Do you have to do the work yourself?
• Is someone in charge of you, who can tell you what work to do, where and when to carry it out or how to do it?
• Do you work a set amount of hours?
• Are you paid a regular amount by the hour, week or month?
• Are you entitled to/do you receive payslips?
• Do you have specific targets?
• Do you receive bonuses?
• Are you paid overtime for extra hours worked?

If you answer ‘yes' to the following questions you are probably self-employed:

• Do you run your own business and take responsibility for its success or failure?
• Do you fulfill short-term contracts for specific periods of time or a specific body of work?
• Can you hire someone to do work for you or help you at your own expense?
• Do you risk your own money?
• Can you decide how, when and where you work?
• Do you provide the main items of equipment you need to do your job?
• Do you regularly work for a number of different people?
• Do you have a contract for services?
• Do you issue an invoice for your services to receive payment?

What is PAYE?

The Pay as You Earn (PAYE) system means that your tax and PRSI is deducted from your earnings by your employer and paid to Revenue. The rate at which tax is deducted depends on how much you earn.

If you are PAYE in Ireland you may be owed a tax refund at the end of the tax year or when you leave the country so use our FREE Online Tax Refund Calculator to see how much cash you could get back.

What is self-employed?

If you're self-employed in Ireland, you are responsible for your own tax and [link_5143]PRSI[/link_5143]. This means:

• You must register with your local Revenue Office as self-employed
• You must Pay and File your taxes through a self-assessment tax return each year and declare all your income
• You must pay tax on the profits you make during the tax year

For more information, visit our self-employed in Ireland section.

Will I be able to claim back my tuition fees?

If you are going to be studying in Ireland, you may be able to claim tax relief on your tuition fees. Tax relief is available for:

• Certain full-time and part-time undergraduate courses of at least 2 years duration. The relief applies to fees up to €5,000
• Certain training courses in the areas of information technology and foreign languages. The relief applies to fees ranging from €315 to €1,270
• Certain postgraduate courses

Taxback.com will be able to claim your tuition tax relief for you. Get a free refund estimation and find out if your course will qualify.

Will I be able to get rent relief?

If you're going to be renting private accommodation in Ireland you may be eligible for rent relief. Relief for single persons under 55 is €400 for 2008 and will be granted by way of a tax credit at the standard rate of income tax.

Taxback.com can claim your rent tax credits and to do so we'll need information including:

• The tenancy dates and address
• The weekly/monthly amount of rent you were paying
• The name and address of your landlord

What is PRSI?

When you work in Ireland your employer deducts Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) from your earnings. PRSI is made up of social insurance and health contributions. The social insurance part goes to social insurance funds to pay for social welfare and benefits in Ireland. The health contribution part goes to the Department of Health and Children to help fund health services in Ireland.

Even if you aren't due a PAYE refund at the end of the tax year or when you leave Ireland, you may still be able to claim back some of the PRSI you paid. Taxback.com can apply for any PRSI you might be owed when we file your Irish income tax return.

Can I get a PRSI refund?

You may be able to claim back some of the PRSI you paid at the end of the tax year in Ireland. Taxback.com customers get an average PRSI refund of €320.

You may be eligible for a PRSI refund if you:

• Worked in Ireland and made PRSI contributions
• You have a PPS number
• You earned under the salary ceiling for PRSI

When will I be able to I get my tax back?

The Irish tax year is from January 1st to December 31st.

If you're working in Ireland in 2009: We can apply for your tax refund at the end of the tax year or mid-year if you leave the country permanently so download the Irish tax forms now and send them in once you leave work.

PRSI refunds: We can apply for your PRSI refund at the end of the tax year too.

What are the advantages of using taxback.com?

Thousands of people choose our service because:

• We get you the maximum legal refund
• FREE online refund estimations
• Every customer gets a Personal Online Tracking Account – you can follow your tax return every step of the way
• All our Irish tax returns are legal and compliant with Ireland's tax laws.
• Document retrieval service
• 24-hour customer support and tax refund help
• Free phone, free fax, free online tax help with our live chat!
• No language barriers - our services are available in: Bulgarian, Chinese, Chinese-Taiwanese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, and Ukrainian.
• Money sent worldwide and in your local currency. You can get your refund in: Australian Dollars, Brazilian Reals, Bulgarian Lev, Canadian Dollars, Czech Koruna, Euro, Hong Kong Dollar, Indonesian Rupiah, Japanese Yen, Latvian Lat, Lithuanian Litas, Moldovan Lei, New Zealand Dollars, Norwegian Krona, Pakistan Rupee, Peruvian Nuevo Soles, Philippine Peso, Polish Zloty, Romanian Lei, Russian Rubles, Singaporean Dollar, Slovak Koruna, South African Rands, South Korean Won, Swedish Krona, Thai Baht, Turkish Lira, UK Pounds, Ukrainian Hryvna, US Dollars.

How much money will I be able to get back?

Taxback.com will get you back as much overpaid Irish tax as is legally possible. That amount depends on factors like:

• Your earnings
• Your expenses
• How long you worked for

The average refunds we get for our Irish tax clients are €840 for PAYE and €320 for PRSI.

How does taxback.com work?

Here's how our easy three-step service works:

1. Register online or use our FREE tax refund calculator and then download the TaxPack for Irish tax returns.
2. Send us your documents and signed forms. We'll estimate your refund and give you an online tracking account. If you're missing any documents we can get replacements for you.
3. Chill out while we file your tax return and get you the maximum possible legal refund.

How long will it take to get my Irish tax refund?

As soon as we have it, you'll have it, because we contact you immediately when we receive your refund from the tax office to organise the easiest way to get it to you.

You can watch the step-by-step progress of your application on your online account. It'll go something like this:

When we get your documents it takes us just 1-3 working days to get your Irish tax return ready. This includes:

• Receiving and checking the documents
• Estimating your refund
• Completing your forms
• Sending them to the tax office

Once at the tax office your application will take about 8-12 weeks for PAYE returns, depending on how busy the office is. For PRSI refunds, it takes a sluggish six months to process but don't worry - our tax team will keep chasing the tax office to see how your application is progressing.

As soon as the tax office sends us your refund, we'll contact you to sort out the best way to get your cash straight to you.

The total estimated time for your Ireland tax refund is 8-12 weeks.

How will I know what's happening with my tax return?

You will be able to follow the progress of your Irish tax return on your online tracking account. It allows you to see every step of your application. As soon as we have your refund we'll contact you to sort out the best way to get your money straight to you.

Rather talk to a human being? We have staff available to talk to you in 21 taxback.com offices in 18 different countries. Click here to find your local office number or use our Live Chat.

How much will it cost?

First of all, our FREE Online Tax Estimation costs you nothing - just a few minutes to fill it out. We'll email your refund estimation straight to your personal email with no obligation to use our service.

When you send us your documents and signed forms, we'll evaluate your refund and what additional services you need such as document retrieval. Then we'll let you know how much it will cost to file your return for you.

For Irish tax refunds we charge a percentage of the refund received, subject to a minimum processing fee of €50.

Why the minimum fee?

Our fee covers all the things that make filing your application with us so easy such as:

• Customer support 24/7 by phone and Live Chat
• Online tracking service in seven languages
• Free phone and free fax
• Local staff to meet you and guide you through the process in 18 offices worldwide
• Tax technicians
• Researchers to identify new legal developments to maximise your refunds
• Quality team[

Can you guarantee that I'll receive the refund amount you estimated for me?

No, but we do guarantee to get you the most money back that we legally can.

Our estimate will be based on your documents and our experience in filing thousands of tax returns every week since 1996. Naturally, the Irish tax authority has the final decision in your tax refund based on their systems and tax codes.

When our tax technicians prepare and file your return, they check for any allowances or benefits you could get and ensure we apply for the maximum rebate possible.

I've worked abroad in other countries - can you help me to claim refunds from these countries?

Absolutely! We've been organising tax refunds for people working all over the world since 1996. If you've worked in any of the following countries click on them to apply for your refund!

Australia tax refund	Austria tax refund	Belgium tax refund
Canada tax refund	Denmark tax refund	Germany tax refund
Gibraltar tax refund	Guernsey tax refund	Holland tax refund
Japan tax refund	Luxembourg tax refund	New Zealand tax refund
Norway tax refund	UK tax refund	US tax refund

Our research team is constantly developing tax return services for new markets so if you've worked in a country not mentioned above, email our team on newtaxes@taxback.com to see what we can do for you.