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01st Dec 2017

A huge amount of Irish people have no idea how much they’re owed in tax refunds every year

Conor Heneghan

tax

Are you one of them?

64% of Irish workers have no idea of how much tax they pay on a weekly or monthly basis and many have no idea of the refunds they’re entitled to on an annual basis.

A 2017 customer sentiment survey conducted by Taxback.com revealed that only 38% of Irish workers know how much tax they pay, with a similar percentage admitting to knowledge of how BIK (Benefit in Kind) works.

While over 90% of Irish workers, meanwhile, were aware of tax relief from medical expenses, well under half of Irish workers surveyed knew about tax relief from tuition fees (30.9%), carer’s allowance (41.1%), nursing home (20.8%) or flat rate expenses (25.3%).

All in all, what this means is that millions of Euro goes unclaimed by Irish workers every year, which is why Taxback.com have launched their ‘Bullsh*t-free guide to PAYE taxes in Ireland’, an online resource that provides PAYE taxpayers in Ireland with a guide that will enable them to understand how the tax system works, what reliefs are available and how to go about getting them.

Taxback.com’s average refund, for example, is €995.

Commenting on the guide, Christine Keily, Head of Direct Taxes with Taxback.com said: “We are acutely aware of the fact that millions of Euro goes unclaimed every year. This is primarily down to the simple fact that people either don’t know about the tax reliefs they are eligible for – or think the process of applying for a refund is “way too much hassle”.

“Without knowledge, others are afraid to claim for fear that they’ll have missed something and end up owing the Revenue; so, knowledge is critical when dealing with tax. We’ve been beating this drum for a while now but we believe it’s worth repeating – our average refund is €995 – that’s almost €1k in someone’s back pocket – it’s definitely worth taking some simple, no hassle, steps to getting what you’re owed.”

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Topics:

Money,Tax