Revenue has amended its Tax and Duty Manual regarding payments on termination of an office or employment or removal from an office or employment. The updated manual contains a reference to Appendix V of the Pensions Manual, which contains detailed guidance on how to calculate the Relevant Capital Sum. Pensions Manual - Appendix V has also been amended to include an effective date for this guidance and a reference to the use of this guidance for the purposes of the calculation of the increase in basic exemption has been added.

Revenue has updated its Capital Acquisitions Tax Manual on the relief from capital acquisitions tax that is available in respect of business property.  The manual has been updated to include guidance on a temporary concession that applied in relation to the relief while COVID-19 restrictions were in place.

Revenue has released a new version of the Form EUT1 on the Collective Investment Vehicles page, in the ‘Related Forms’ panel of the Revenue website. The filing deadline for Form EUT1 for 2022 has also been extended to 5 May 2023. Section 731(5)(a)(iii) TCA 1997 obliges exempt unit trusts (EUTs) to file this statement annually. As noted on page 1 of the Form EUT1, filing should be completed electronically and returned to Revenue via MyEnquiries to largecasesdiv@revenue.ie.

As previously reported, guidance relating to internationally mobile employees and tax equalisation is included in a new Tax and Duty Manual. Consequently, Revenue has amended its Tax and Duty Manual regarding employee payroll tax deductions in relation to non-Irish employments exercised in the State by removing the contents of chapter 5.

Readers are reminded of the year-end reporting obligations for employers who operate share schemes for their employees. The filing deadline for 2022 share-reporting returns is 31 March 2023. Further information is available here.

Tuesday, 21 March 2023 is the deduction date for the payment of Local Property Tax (LPT) by Annual Debit Instruction. Revenue has written to property owners who have Ulster Bank/KBC bank accounts on record for payment of LPT requesting that they update their bank details.

Revenue has amended its Tax and Duty Manual that provides guidelines for using the Court process to pursue tax liabilities as follows. Part 1 - Paragraph 19.1 now states that it is the responsibility of the taxpayer or their representatives to ensure the Satisfaction Piece is registered in the Central Office of the Four Courts.

BIK should not apply on payments of professional subscriptions by employers on behalf of employees provided certain established and long standing conditions are fulfilled. The normal Schedule E rules provide for a deduction for expenditure incurred wholly exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of the employment.  This deduction can apply in relation to professional subscriptions.  Even though there was a restatement of their practice, Revenue’s approach to the administration of professional subscriptions when properly tax deductible as outside the scope of BIK has not changed. There are three conditions to be met to allow a BIK exempt treatment where an employer pays a professional subscription on behalf of an employee, namely: The duties of the employee require them to be a member of a professional body, and The employee exercises those duties, and Membership of the professional body is an indispensable condition of the tenure of the employment. If there is a legal requirement for membership of a professional body, or if there is a requirement for a practising certificate or licence, subscriptions may also be paid to a professional body for an employee without a BIK charge. Any concerns regarding the BIK status of our professional subscription will not usually be on the grounds of “wholly” or “exclusively”, but on the grounds of “necessarily” being paid.  It is important to be able to show that our membership is an indispensable condition of the tenure of employment if claiming the BIK exempt treatment.  Members in business should be particularly mindful of this requirement.  For members in practice, an important indicator of our membership subscription being a necessary condition for tenure of employment is the statutory requirement in order to be heard at the Tax Appeals Commission.  However, care must be taken in any situation where two or more subscriptions paid on behalf of one individual to different professional bodies are all currently treated as if exempt from BIK.  It seems such an arrangement would almost certainly be challenged by Revenue in the context of a Revenue audit or other Revenue intervention, if it appeared that only one of the subscriptions could be regarded as necessary.   The Institute encourages members to review the wording in the Revenue Tax and Duty Manual towards ensuring full compliance with the Schedule E rules and BIK treatment. 

The Minister for Justice, Simon Harris, has confirmed that he considers it no longer appropriate to keep the Immigrant Investment Programme (IIP) open. The Ireland IIP was established in 2012 to allow wealthy individuals and families from outside the European Union to obtain residency in Ireland in exchange for making an approved investment in the Irish economy. Although permanent residence is not offered by the program, once the appropriate conditions are met residency permission could be extended every few years for an indefinite period. The Ireland IIP does not officially provide Irish citizenship by investment, but long-term residency in Ireland can be used to support a citizenship application under the country's naturalization rules. Although the government granted a three-month grace period in limited exceptions, applications will no longer be accepted after 15 February 2023. Further information is available here.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual for qualifying health expenses relating to certain illnesses. The updated manual includes the flat rate expense amount allowable regarding certain kidney patients and children with life threatening illnesses. The examples throughout the manual have also been updated to refer to the current year of assessment.

Revenue has updated the Share Schemes Manual relating to growth shares, to include updated examples and provide a link to comprehensive guidance on filing the employer return.

Revenue has updated the Stamp Duty Tax and Duty Manual for relief for leases of farmland to reflect recent developments. Section 81D SDCA1999 provides for relief from stamp duty (subject to State aid rules) in respect of certain leases of farmland executed (signed, sealed or both) on or after 1 July 2018. In order to qualify for the relief, a farmer must either hold a relevant agricultural qualification or spend a specified amount of time farming. Finance Act 2022 inserted a new section 654A in the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997, which streamlines how agricultural qualifications are listed and updated for the purposes of various tax relief schemes, including relief on certain leases of farmland.