Revenue has updated the guidance on the provision of miscellaneous benefits to reflect Finance Act 2024. The changes introduced mean that from 1 January 2025, an “employer limit” applies to employer contributions to an employee's Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA). The “employer limit” is the maximum amount an employer can contribute to an employee's PRSA without the contribution being considered a BIK for the employee. It is also the maximum contribution for that employee for which an employer can claim a deduction for tax purposes. This limit is 100 percent of the employee's emoluments in the year of assessment. Any employer contributions exceeding this limit are treated as a BIK and are therefore taxed as employment income.

Revenue has updated the guidance on the completion of corporation tax returns (Form CT1) for 2023 and 2024 following an update to the text on the iXBRL filing options on Form CT1. The guidance confirms that companies liable to Corporation Tax and whose affairs are managed in either Large Corporates Division or High Wealth and Financial Services Division must continue to file iXBRL financial statements.

Last week, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published its Quarterly Economic Commentary. In the press release which accompanied this publication, the ESRI refers to the economy continuing to perform robustly, with recent data show strong growth in consumption expenditure, employment and tax receipts. The ESRI expects this positive situation to continue over the forecast horizon and are estimating modified domestic demand (MDD) to grow by 3.8 percent in 2025 and 3.2 percent in 2026. Although the immediate risk of punitive US tariffs has eased for now, the commentary highlights that a broader shift away from trade liberalisation continues to pose a challenge to Ireland’s economic model. While there was a large increase in exports in Q1, which was most likely a pre-emptive reaction to threatened tariffs, Q2 saw a significant scaling back on this growth rate, although pharmaceutical exports continued to grow strongly year on year in Q2. Data for July 2025 points towards a drop off in pharma exports relative to the same month in 2024 and there is an assumption that this fall back will continue for the rest of 2025.  The ESRI expect exports to grow by 6.1 percent in 2025 and by 0.9 percent in 2026. In terms of employment, the ESRI comments that growth remains positive but some tentative signs of a softening in the labour market is evident in the most recent data. 

Last week, the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers TD, met with the Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight to discuss Budget 2026.  In his opening statement, Minister Donohoe outlined the economic context and fiscal background to  Budget 2026 which will be announced next week. The Minister confirmed a total budget package of €9.4 billion, made up of €1.5 billion in tax and €7.9 billion in expenditure measures. The risks associated with the overreliance by the economy on the FDI sector and corporation tax receipts were noted. The Minister outlined measures to address these risks, including continuing to run budgetary surpluses and building up the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund to €16 billion by the end of 2025. In his opening statement, Minister Chambers outlined the ongoing work in terms of the Summer Economic Statement, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the National Development Plan.

The European Parliament’s sub-committee on Tax Matters hosted a public hearing to consider the tax implications of the current US administration’s policies. Invited speakers outlined the differences between the US corporate tax regime and the international agreement reached at OECD level (the Pillar 2 agreement) and put forward some ideas of how the so-called ‘side-by-side’ approach could work.

The OECD Inclusive Framework on BEPS has published the latest 2025 peer review reports on Country-by-Country (CbC) Reporting implemented under the BEPS Action 13. The report presents findings of the 2024/25 peer review which assessed the implementation of CbC Reporting across 142 jurisdictions that provided relevant legislation or information.

Revenue has published a further warning of fraudulent emails, SMS (text messages) and phone calls seeking personal information from taxpayers. Revenue has updated its website to assist taxpayers identify fraudulent communications. Taxpayers who have provided Revenue account details in response to an email, SMS or phone call are advised to reset their password immediately. Taxpayers are advised to contact their bank or credit card provider if they have provided bank or card details.

In UK news today, the Institute reports back from last week’s HMRC Annual Stakeholder Conference and we invite tax agents and businesses to participate in our short survey on Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.  As part of our ongoing lobbying work, the Institute has contributed feedback to two technical legislation consultations focused on tax agents. In Irish news, the updated Local Property Tax portal is now available for property owners, and Revenue has issued a warning regarding fraudulent communications appearing to originate from Revenue. UK 1. Read our update from the HMRC Annual Stakeholder Conference held last week. 2. The Institute has responded to three technical consultations launched by HMRC on draft legislation. 3. Take our short survey on Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Ireland 4. Revenue has launched a Local Property Tax (LPT) information campaign and the Revenue LPT portal is now available. 5. Revenue has issued a warning of fraudulent communications Keep up to date with all the latest Irish, UK, and international tax developments through Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Tax Newsletter. Subscribe to the Tax News by updating your preferences in MyAccount. You can also read this week’s Cross-border trading corner here.  

Revenue has published a further warning of fraudulent emails, SMS (text messages) and phone calls seeking personal information from taxpayers. Revenue has updated its website to assist taxpayers identify fraudulent communications. Taxpayers who have provided Revenue account details in response to an email, SMS or phone call are advised to reset their password immediately. Taxpayers are advised to contact their bank or credit card provider if they have provided bank or card details.

At the most recent meeting of the Tax Administration Liaison Committee (TALC) Collection sub-committee, Revenue acknowledged that recent changes to ROS resulted in error reports when returns where completed using third party software packages. To avoid any such future occurrences, Revenue is setting up a technical forum to facilitate better communication between software providers, and Revenue IT technicians. If you provide software solutions for tax practitioners, please email us at tax@charteredaccountants.ie with relevant contact details if you wish to participate in the forum.

Last Tuesday HMRC held its Annual Stakeholder Conference in London which the Institute was represented at by our UK Tax Manager, Leontia Doran. Under the conference theme ‘Navigating the future together: the Transformation Roadmap in Action’, attendees heard more from HMRC’s new CEO and First Permanent Secretary, JP Marks, about the ambitious plans in its Transformation Roadmap, which we previously provided an update on in July. Attendees also took part in a series of workshops, all of which were themed around the roadmap, and which provided the Institute with a key opportunity to directly engage with several senior leaders in HMRC. In his speech, JP Marks spoke frankly about the challenges which lie ahead but importantly also recognised the need for greater openness and transparency. He set out his vision for even greater collaboration between agents and HMRC in which he sees both groups working together as stewards and custodians of the UK tax ecosystem. It is clear that Mr Marks sees co-creation and collaboration as key to achieving HMRC’s goals in the future. The Institute recently wrote a letter of introduction to Mr Marks ahead of the conference setting out four key issues on our agenda. These are as follows: The Institute’s campaign for a lower rate of corporation tax in Northern Ireland, The tax burden and complexity arising from cross-border and remote/hybrid working, Tax simplification and the lack of progress in this area, and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and the implementation of mandatory tax adviser registration from 1 April 2026. Building on previous annual conferences, the tone of the conference was ultimately collaborative and optimistic with a clear focus on innovation and partnership. Simplification of tax administration was another key theme, one which the Institute has been vocal about for some time. As HMRC strives to make administration largely digitalised and user-friendly, the protection of taxpayer data from cyber threats is also a top priority. Attendees heard in person from the new Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (XST), Dan Tomlinson MP, who in his speech spoke about his role’s three key priorities, which are unchanged from those of his predecessor, and how these fit with the roadmap. The XST also shared updates on the expansion of HMRC’s compliance and debt management teams and his speech confirmed that he has taken up the role of Chair of the HMRC Board. As a reminder, the three key priorities of the XST are: Improving day-to-day performance and the overall taxpayer experience, Closing the tax gap, and Driving reform and modernisation of the UK’s tax and customs system.

Last week the Institute launched its latest survey on Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. With just over six months to go to commencement, we  are inviting tax agents and businesses to take our short eight question survey. Take the survey now. We also remind readers that HMRC recently launched a new MTD for Income Tax direct support campaign for agents.