Revenue has published statistics on Local Property Tax (LPT) for 2023. LPT collected to date amounts to €511 million, with both return and payment compliance rates of 95 percent indicating that most property owners have met their payment and filing obligations. 

To reflect certain amendments to the TCA 1997 by Finance (No.2) Act 2023, Revenue has updated the following Tax and Duty Manuals:  Stock relief – young trained farmers (Part 23-02-01) and Tax credit for succession farm partnerships (Part 23-02-11) have been updated for the increase in the maximum amount of relief that may be granted under sections 667B (stock relief) and 667D (relief for succession farm partnerships) TCA 1997 and section 81AA SDCA 1999 to €100,000.  Taxation Issues for Registered Farm Partnerships (Part 23-02-09) addresses Regulation (EU) No.1408/2013, setting out the maximum de minimis aid available to any individual farmer, and reflects the increase to €20,000 in the maximum cash equivalent of relief a partner is entitled to receive over a 3-year period. 

In Irish news, the Minister for Finance urges businesses with warehoused debt to engage with Revenue in agreeing flexible payment arrangements and Revenue provides an update on enhanced employer reporting. In UK news, we issue another reminder of the 2022/23 self-assessment filing deadline which now includes importance guidance for postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal and the Government has published its promised update on tax simplification. In International news, Zambia joins the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information.  Ireland The Minister for Finance is urging businesses with warehoused debt to engage with Revenue in agreeing flexible payment arrangements. Revenue has provided insight into one aspect that is causing some enhanced reporting requirement (ERR) submissions to be rejected. UK Read our reminder about the 2022/23 self-assessment filing deadline which also contains important guidance for postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal. Mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind from April 2026 features in the Government’s recent update on tax simplification. International Zambia has become the 171st member of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum). 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 EU exit corner here.  

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual for annual average exchange rates to include the average market mid-closing rate v Euro, for the calendar year 2023. The Lloyds sterling conversion rates have been removed from this manual as they are no longer relevant. 

Revenue has published a new version of the Form IREF on its website in the Related Forms panel. Irish Real Estate Funds (IREFs) with accounting periods ending between 1 January 2023 and 30 June 2023 are required to file this updated Form IREF on or before 30 January 2024, as provided by section 739R(2) TCA 1997. Further information is available in eBrief no.025/24. 

Zambia has become the 171st member of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum).  Like all other members, Zambia commits to combatting offshore tax evasion through the implementation of the internationally agreed standards of exchange of information on request (EOIR) and automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI). Zambia is the 39th African member to join the Global Forum and the sixth African country to join in the past eighteen months.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual on hybrid mismatches to reflect amendments made by Finance (No.2) Act 2023. 

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual regarding accelerated capital allowances for farm safety equipment. The manual is updated in accordance with amendments introduced in Finance (No.2) Act 2023 whereby:   there is a requirement to publish details of the recipient above a revised threshold of State aid received of €10,000, and  the scheme is extended to 31 December 2026. 

We again remind you that the 2022/23 online self-assessment (“SA”) filing deadline is in nine days’ time on Wednesday 31 January 2024. This is also the deadline for paying any balancing payment of income tax and Class 4 National Insurance for 2022/23 and the first payment on account for 2023/24. HMRC has recently published guidance for postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal and is reminding crypto-asset owners to check if they need to file a 2022/23 SA return. And finally, we would like to hear from you about the impact of HMRC’s helpline restrictions on filing 2022/23 SA returns by the deadline. Recognising that many of you are busy filing 2022/23 SA returns, please get in touch with us when you get the opportunity to do so as we will be accepting feedback into the early weeks of February 2024.  Horizon Shortfall Scheme guidance  Advice from HMRC sets out that postmasters who have not received their top-up payment under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (“HSS”) in enough time to file their 2022/23 SA return by the 31 January 2024 filing deadline will not be subject to interest and penalties. HMRC has also set up a specialist team to deal with tax queries from postmasters. The team can be contacted by telephone at 0300 322 9625 Monday to Friday 8am-6pm.   As part of the HSS, postmasters may have received compensation payments during 2022/23 which need to be reported on their SA return as these are taxable. However, to ensure that the amount received is not reduced by tax, postmasters may also be due or have already received an exempt from tax top-up payment. Many affected postmasters have not yet received this top up payment meaning they would be unfairly subject to income tax and Class 4 NIC in 2022/23. HMRC’s guidance confirms that those individuals will not be subject to late filing penalties and interest if they file and pay late as a result.   Penalties and interest will not be charged as HMRC has undertaken an advance exercise to identify those affected. However, if penalties or interest are inadvertently charged, the advice is to contact the specialist HMRC team mentioned earlier. Any postmaster who has received a HSS compensation payments in 2022/23 but who has not received a notice to file should also contact them.   Crypto asset owners  HMRC has issued a reminder to crypto asset users to check if they need to complete and file a SA return. With the use of crypto assets growing, HMRC is urging people to avoid potential penalties and check if they need to complete and file a 2022/23 SA return by 31 January 2024.   Anyone with crypto assets should declare any income or gains above the tax-free allowance on a SA return. Tax may be due when a person:   receives crypto assets from employment, if they’re held as part of a trade, or are involved in crypto-related activities that generate an income;   sells or exchanges crypto assets, including:  selling crypto assets for money;   exchanging one type of crypto asset for another;   using crypto assets to make purchases;  gifting crypto assets to another person; and  donating crypto assets to charity.  Visit GOV.UK to find out more information about how crypto assets are taxed. A voluntary disclosure can also be made in relation to unpaid tax on crypto asset activities.   

Last week, the Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, responded to the public consultation on modernising Ireland’s administration of VAT – real-time digital reporting and electronic invoicing (e-invoicing). In our response, we noted that a modernised VAT system could simplify VAT administration for many businesses. However, it is important that the VAT system facilitates enterprises that have capacity constraints, particularly in terms of staff and digital resources.   The introduction of e-invoicing will undoubtedly present challenges for taxpayers regardless of their size. As such, along with continued engagement with a wide number of diverse stakeholders, it is our view that a sufficient lead-in time will be crucial to successfully implement VAT Modernisation in Ireland. Simplicity will also be a key to enable business operators to embrace this change as will the managing of costs and financial resources. To achieve this, thorough engagement by Revenue with businesses and key stakeholders will be imperative so that the needs of businesses are fully understood before a system is designed.   CCAB-I also called for the launch of fully resourced dedicated Revenue helplines to support businesses, practical workshops with key stakeholders, and a series of information webinars resourced with trained Revenue staff as well as a media campaign to raise awareness and support the change.  The CCAB-I will continue to work with Revenue on this project via the TALC Indirect Forum and TALC VAT Modernisation Subgroup and keep readers updated.  

Last week the Government published an update on progress made towards tax simplification which contained details of a package of measures one of which confirms that from April 2026, tax on benefits in kind will be paid through payroll, effectively ending the need to report on the annual P11D. More details are provided below on the changes announced. Mandating the payrolling of benefits in kind  From April 2026, the government will mandate the reporting and paying of Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance Contributions on benefits in kind via payroll software. This measure aims to reduce the need for taxpayers to contact HMRC and to reduce the administrative burdens for employers and HMRC “by simplifying and digitising the process of reporting and paying tax on all employment benefits.”   HMRC will engage with stakeholders to discuss this and to inform design and delivery decisions. Draft legislation will be published later in the year as part of the usual tax legislation process. HMRC will also work with industry experts to produce guidance, which it will aim to make available in advance of 2026.  Further information will be published via the usual communication routes, such as through employer bulletins.  The timeline to move to mandating of payrolled benefits in kind is short and does not provide much time to ensure that software is developed and tested before this change comes into place in 2026 when Making Tax Digital for Income Tax also commences.   Relief for employment expenses  Each year, HMRC receives 1.1 million claims for tax relief from employees on their expenses. These claims are submitted through existing online services, or via digital or paper forms, resulting in some claims being manually processed.  To simplify the process, the government is designing a new, online service for employees to claim tax relief on all of their expenses in one place, meaning employees will get relief sooner. HMRC will provide further details later this year.  Amending the parents’ National Insurance Credit  As announced last year, the government will legislate to introduce a route for people to apply for National Insurance Credits for parents and carers for tax years where they have not claimed Child Benefit, to ensure that people do not miss out on their State Pension entitlement. The credit will add qualifying years of National Insurance where eligible which will support future State Pension eligibility.  Individuals will be able to claim this Credit from April 2026. The eligibility for the Credit will be closely based on Child Benefit eligibility criteria. Transitional arrangements will ensure those affected since 2013 are still able to claim.  Going forward, applications will be available for six years following the relevant tax year. The government will bring forward secondary legislation as soon as possible.  Alternative finance  The government has launched a consultation proposing change to the Capital Gains Tax (“CGT”) rules that apply to alternative finance arrangements.  The proposed changes seek to amend those rules so that where property is used as collateral for the purposes of raising finance, the CGT outcome is the same whether alternative finance or conventional finance is used. The consultation also asks whether there are any implications for capital allowances. The consultation is open to responses for 12 weeks and closes on 9 April 2024.  Transfer pricing, permanent establishment, and the diverted profits tax (“DPT”)  The government has published a summary of responses from the consultation undertaken last summer which proposed reforms to transfer pricing, permanent establishment, and the DPT. The aim of the consultation was to develop simpler, shorter legislation that is easier to understand and administer and provides greater certainty for both HMRC and taxpayers.  The government will continue to engage with stakeholders on the proposed approach set out in the summary of responses with a view to publishing draft legislation for consultation later in 2024. 

Revenue has informed us that it is to write to taxpayers who are currently registered for income tax or corporation tax and have not filed income tax or corporation tax returns for years up to and including 2022. The notice is a Level 1 Compliance Intervention in accordance with Revenue’s Compliance Intervention Framework. Revenue is reminding taxpayers that the non-filing of a required tax return can result in a more detailed review by Revenue and is a prosecutable offence.   A single ROS inbox notification will be sent to each agent, listing out their clients that were issued the notice, with a reminder to the agent for their clients to file outstanding returns.