Revenue has updated guidance on PAYE settlement agreements  to include a new section  relating to the repayment of overpaid income tax, PRSI and USC in respect of prior years. Where the taxpayer (in this case, the employer) has overpaid an amount of tax under the settlement agreement a claim for repayment can be made subject to the four-year time limit. Revenue intends contacting taxpayers who entered into settlement agreements for the tax years, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Employers seeking a refund must review the correspondence received from Revenue, write to the appropriate Revenue division in line with the instructions included in the correspondence and include all requested documentation. Each refund claim will be assessed individually based on its specific facts and circumstances and if a refund is approved, Revenue confirms in the guidance that interest of 0.011 percent per day will be paid from the date the tax was originally paid until the refund is issued under Section 865A(1) TCA 1997. The example in the guidance has also been updated to reflect PRSI rates applicable from 1 October 2025.

Revenue has updated its guidance on income tax relief for health insurance covering medical and /or dental benefits to outline an administrative practice that will take effect from 1 January 2026.  From this date, Revenue will accept that the standard rate of tax, currently 20 percent, will apply to all health insurance policies providing medical cover. This rate will be applied to the lesser of the premium paid or the applicable cap. Prior to 1 January 2026, where a health insurance policy covers both eligible and ineligible benefits for income tax relief purposes under section 469 TCA 1999, a blended rate of tax relief is applied. The pre-1 January 2026 position will continue to apply to health insurance policies providing dental cover. The guide provides examples of the pre and post 1 January 2026 position in section two. From an administrative perspective, the guidance has been renamed and details relating to the tax treatment of premium refunds made due to Covid-19 has been removed as it is no longer relevant. Revenue contact details in respect of claims by authorised insurers has also been updated in the guidance.

In this week’s cross-border trading corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications. The most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is also available, as is the latest Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs team. Miscellaneous guidance updates and publications This week’s miscellaneous guidance updates and publications are as follows: CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Imports Fulfilment House Due Diligence Scheme registered businesses list External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service Data Element 2/3: Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union) of the Customs Declaration Service Check if a business holds Authorised Economic Operator status Additional Information (AI) Statement Codes for Data Element 2/2 of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) Reference Documents for The Customs Tariff (Preferential Trade Arrangements) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 Check if you can claim a waiver for goods brought into Northern Ireland HMRC email updates, videos and webinars for VAT Designated land, sea and air ports for trading or moving CITES-listed endangered species

The Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have published the Fiscal Monitor for October 2025 confirming an Exchequer deficit of €0.9 billion to the end of October. This compares to a surplus of €1.3 billion recorded for the same period last year and is impacted by receipts arising from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling in the Apple State Aid case. When these receipts are excluded from total receipts in 2024 and 2025, an underlying deficit of €4.2 billion was recorded which represents a deterioration of €2.3 billion on the same period last year. Tax receipts collected to the end of October were €78.8 billion, which was €2.4 billion higher than the same period in 2024. Excluding the once off receipts from CJEU judgement in the Apple State Aid case, total receipts amounted to €77.0 billion, an increase of €3.8 billion on the corresponding period in 2024. Income tax receipts for the month of October were €2.9 billion which was a reduction of €0.2 billion on receipts collected in October 2024. On a year-to-date basis, receipts to the end of October of €28.7 billion were up by €1.1 billion, when compared to end of October 2024. Corporation tax receipts of €1.1 billion were collected in October, a decrease of €2.4 billion on the same month in 2024. On a cumulative basis, receipts of €21.1 billion were down by €0.3 billion on the same period last year. When the once-off CJEU receipts are excluded, cumulative corporation tax receipts to October 2025 amounted to €19.4 billion, up on the same period last year by €1.1 billion. October is not a VAT due month, with modest VAT receipts collected of €0.3 billion. Cumulative receipts of €19.1 billion were ahead by 4.3 percent on end of October last year. Commenting on the figures, Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe said: “Today’s figures are broadly consistent with the updated fiscal projections published as part of Budget 2026. Those projections, which I published on Budget Day, incorporated a substantial upward revision to revenues, mostly on corporation tax.”

In this week’s detailed miscellaneous updates which you can read more about below, we bring you updates on guidance for contractors and subcontractors within the Construction Industry Scheme, the updated VAT registrations manual, and HMRC’s agent escalation and resolutions service. HMRC email updates, videos and webinars for the Construction Industry Scheme HMRC has updated its guidance on paying tax and record keeping for the Construction Industry Scheme for contractors and subcontractors. You can subscribe to receive email updates, view webinars on various matters, and find information on fraud in the labour supply chain. HMRC updates its VAT registration manual HMRC has updated its guidance on VAT, including information on whether someone must register VAT, when they may register for VAT, and how to deal with changes to details held on the VAT register. HMRC agent escalation and resolution services HMRC has provided updated guidance on its agent services. You can read information on tracking the progress of a query and when you can expect a reply, how to use the HMRC service’s dashboard, the Agent Account Managers service, and other tools.

Finance Bill 2025 has completed its third stage through the Oireachtas with the Bill being reviewed section by section as part of the Committee Stage. The amendments arising from this review were published last week in the Finance Bill 2025 Committee Stage Amendments. The Institute, under the auspices of CCAB-I, have been actively engaging with the Department of Finance and Revenue on proposed changes and clarifications to the Finance Bill. The Committee Stage amendments provide the opportunity to address some of the concerns raised and provide additional details on proposed changes.

Last week, HMRC launched its refreshed mobile app (available on Android and iPhone) as part of Talk Money Week. HMRC encourages taxpayers to use the app to support financial conversations and get information about your tax, National Insurance and State Pension forecast. The theme of this year’s Talk Money Week was ‘start the conversation’ and the app can provide the starting point for these discussions. The app has been used by more than 5.6 million since 6 April 2025 and the most popular services used are: Checking pay before it lands in the bank account and other Pay As You Earn (PAYE) information Viewing the annual tax summary – 1.94 million users Viewing or saving their National Insurance number or checking contributions Checking their State Pension forecast Viewing the Self Assessment summary and making payments.

Revenue has published updated guidance on the Keep Employee Engagement Programme (KEEP) clarifying that the limits applicable to a qualifying share option must be met at the time the option is granted. The Institute, under the auspices of CCAB-I, had sought this clarification through the TALC Direct and Capital Taxes subcommittee, and welcomes the confirmation in the updated guidance. The limits outlined in the definition of qualifying share option confirm that the total market value of the share options which may be granted to any one employee/director cannot exceed €100,000 in any one year of assessment or €300,000 in all years of assessment. The updated guidance confirms in paragraphs 9.3.1 and 9.3.2 that these limits must be satisfied at the date a share option is granted. Examples 2,3,4 and 11 have also been updated to reflect this clarification.

Revenue issued a press release last week confirming an extension of the deadline for filing Local Property Tax (LPT) returns for the 2026-2030 period to 5:30pm on Wednesday, 12 November 2025. Revenue’s LPT helpline will also operate extended opening hours in the lead-up to the new deadline. We have been closely engaging with Revenue as last week’s deadline approached, and we are pleased to see this pragmatic approach to filing adopted. Revenue confirmed that LPT returns in respect of approximately 1.4 million properties have been filed to date and property owners are encouraged to submit their Local Property Tax (LPT) returns online using myAccount, ROS, or the LPT portal.  Revenue has outlined that a practical and fair approach will be taken, with property owners wishing to pay by monthly Direct Debit or Deduction at Source being encouraged to file their returns as soon as possible, as these payment options must be arranged in advance.

The heads of tax administrations from EU Member States and representatives from candidate countries attended the annual summit of EU Tax Administrations last week.  The summit concluded with a renewed focus on modernising EU tax governance through digital resilience in a climate of geopolitical and technological volatility. The participants reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation between Member States, and the gradual integration of candidate countries.

The OECD has published a working paper on the current reform of Brazil’s consumption tax system replacing the five main consumption taxes with a dual VAT system consisting of a Federal VAT and a State and Municipal VAT. The paper considers challenges, solutions, transition to and management of the new regime.

Revenue has announced today that it is extending the Local Property Tax (LPT) filing deadline to 5.30pm on Wednesday, 12 November 2025. To support property owners, Revenue’s LPT Helpline (01 738 3626) will operate extended opening hours in the lead-up to the new deadline. For Monday and Tuesday, the LPT Helpline will operate between 9.00am and 8.00pm and on Wednesday it will operate from 9.00am to 4.30pm.  You can read the full press release here.