Chartered Accountants Ireland is excited to announce that the search for the next Chartered Star is now on! Open to members and students, Chartered Star celebrates the amazing work done by the Chartered community in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whether that’s by volunteering in your personal life, driving change in your workplace or through leveraging your ACA qualification in some way. As well as being awarded the prestigious ‘Chartered Star’ title and joining an incredible community, the winner will get the once in a lifetime chance to attend the One Young World Summit in Munich, Germany this November (3 – 6 November 2025), representing Chartered Accountants Ireland and Chartered Accountants Worldwide.  The One Young World Summit convenes the brightest young talent from every country and sector, working to accelerate social impact, through four transformative days of speeches, panels, workshops and networking.  Learn more about Chartered Star here.

In Irish news this week, Revenue has published its Annual Report for 2024 and the rescheduled commencement date for auto-enrolment has been announced. In UK news, last week’s Spring tax update announced a range of measures including a one year delay to mandatory payrolling of benefits-in-kind and HMRC has announced the closure of a range of online forums. In International news, the OECD has published its annual report of taxes paid on wages in OECD countries. Ireland 1. Revenue has released its Annual Report for 2024 together with relevant research and statistical papers.  2. The new start date for auto-enrolment has been confirmed as 1 January 2026. UK 3. Read about the tax announcements in last week’s Spring 2025 tax update including the one year delay to April 2027 for mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind. 4. HMRC has announced the closure of its agent and taxpayer online forums. International 5. The OECD has published its annual report of taxes levied on wages in member countries. 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.  

Last week, the Institute was proud to win Best Learning and Development Programme at the Irish HR Champion Awards for its innovative virtual reality (VR) experience. This groundbreaking combination of the latest technologies and traditional learning provides learners of audit with a unique perspective that can set them apart. The programme - developed with the Metaverse team at Sia and funded by Skillnet Ireland - addresses the very real challenge of equipping junior and trainee auditors with Professional Scepticism (PS) skills. The VR simulation puts learners into the role and persona of a junior auditor conducting an external audit, allowing them to practice PS in realistic scenarios that mirror the complexities of real-world audit environments.  Presenting the Award, Maurice Whelan, Founder and CEO of Unleash Potential Ireland, said:  “Tonight’s Learning and Development Award celebrates a programme that didn’t just raise the bar — it completely reimagined it. This organisation tackled one of the most complex challenges in professional education head-on, fusing cutting-edge Virtual Reality technology with real-world expertise to deliver a truly immersive, transformative learning experience. By embracing bold innovation and setting a global first in their field, they have not only elevated their own members’ development but captured the attention of top universities and industry leaders alike. They’ve shown that when technology meets vision and collaboration, the results can be nothing short of groundbreaking”.  

With exam season kicking off this month, it can be an extremely overwhelming and pressured time for students. Dee France, Thrive’s Wellbeing Lead, shares her advice on handling exam stress and anxiety  It is a perfectly normal experience to feel worried and stressed when faced with impending exams or any type of performance situation.  A healthy and ordinary amount of stress can even be good for you, giving you the motivation to push through and keep you focused. However, when worry, self-doubt, fear of failure and the pressure to perform well become too intense, they can interfere negatively with exam preparation and performance.  As feelings of stress push past optimal levels, it can have a devastating effect on our concentration, and our ability to learn, remember and demonstrate what we know.  Causes of exam anxiety  To effectively manage anxiety, it is important to understand why you are feeling this way. There are many variables that may contribute to and relate to these feelings:  Past experience with exams;  Poor preparation, inexperience undergoing exams and unfamiliarity with exam and study techniques;  Poor self-care, such as bad sleep habits, unhealthy eating, lack of exercise and limited relaxation time; Intrusive and unhelpful thinking patterns such as saying to yourself, “I can’t do this” or “I’m going to fail”;  Strong sense of failure; or  Extreme pressure to achieve placed on you by yourself or others. Tips for handling exam anxiety  How you spend your time leading up to your exams can have a huge knock-on effect on your anxiety and stress levels.  Routine  Essential to managing anxiety and stress when faced with exams is creating a study routine early in the year as opposed to haphazardly cramming a year’s worth of learning into a few days.  Design a study schedule and map out how you will spend your days.  Schedule your study time in short, succinct time blocks with a 10-minute break for every hour.  It is important to have a hard stop each evening to allow some time to unwind, and block out a day each week that is revision free. By carving out a comprehensive and realistic schedule, you will focus better, feel in control and be less likely to procrastinate.  Being prepared will help you feel more relaxed and confident and goes a long way to easing stress levels and keeping your nerves in check. Mind and body  When we are busy, other parts of our life can be easily neglected, and we can forget to take care of ourselves.  When it comes to managing anxiety and stress, nourishing your mind and body should not be underestimated.  It is important not to push yourself too hard or overlook your needs.  Regular exercise, eating well and sleeping properly are some of the most effective stress relievers at our disposal and are essential for being at our best physically, mentally and emotionally.  Incorporating fundamental self-care practices into your study routine can ease the pressure of trying to balance your time with other vital activities. Relax  To relieve symptoms of anxiety and stress, practise deep breathing or other relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation or yoga to help calm the body, alter the body’s response to anxiety and release tension.  In general, relaxation techniques are about refocusing your attention and increasing awareness in the body. It is a good idea to engage in these activities when you are relaxed and practise regularly to reap the benefits.  Ask for help  If you are overwhelmed by upcoming exams, you might find it helpful to share how you are feeling.  At Thrive, we witness a spike in students contacting our services at this time of year regarding exam stress and anxiety, which is one of the most common concerns students are dealing with.  Thrive is the Institute’s dedicated well-being hub, which is freely accessible to all students.  The hub provides a wide range of services tailored to our students' well-being, such as wellness coaching and professional counselling. All services are delivered in complete confidence and are available at any stage of your journey with the Institute.  For more advice or information, check out Thrive’s dedicated wellbeing hub.  Alternatively, you can contact the Wellbeing team by email at: thrive@charteredaccountants.ie or phone: (+353) 86 0243294

Revenue has updated the its guidance on Section 31D - Cancellation schemes of arrangement to reflect the increase provided by Finance Act 2024 in the Stamp Duty rates relating to the acquisition of residential property.

Revenue has updated its guidance on investment undertakings to confirm that a refund of tax is available where the income arises or is derived from the investment of a relevant payment by a relevant woman as defined in section 2 of Cervical Check Tribunal Act 2019. The manual has also been updated to include reference to the guidance on the Tax Treatment of CervicalCheck Payments.

Last week’s Spring 2025 tax update, badged by HMRC as the TUSAR (‘Tax Update on Simplification, Administration and Reform’), included a range of measures and also announced that the mandatory payrolling of benefits-in-kind (BIKs) is being delayed one year to commence from the revised date of April 2027. This follows concerns expressed by stakeholders, including this Institute, that there was insufficient time to prepare. Chartered Accountants Ireland is represented on the HMRC Employer and Payroll stakeholder forum which discusses such matters. Below we outline some of what was announced last week in the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury’s Written Ministerial Statement. Information on all the TUSAR measures announced can also be found in the Tax update 2025 page on GOV.UK.   Mandatory payrolling of BIKs HMRC has published an updated technical note which provides more operational information on how employers can work towards adapting to these changes in time for April 2027.  Valuation Office Agency   Functions of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will be integrated with HMRC by April 2026. According to the Government, moving the VOA’s functions into HMRC will help to improve the experience of taxpayers. This change also aims to deliver change more quickly and effectively, by combining the expertise and experience of both organisations in policy, valuations and programme delivery.   Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA) criteria changes As previously announced, the Government intends to change ITSA income reporting thresholds within this parliament. This will change how taxpayers report income below the thresholds to HMRC. The £1,000 tax-free trading income allowance will remain the same. This change will align three ITSA reporting thresholds for income at £3,000 (gross) each by:  increasing the ITSA reporting threshold for gross trading income from £1,000 to £3,000, increasing the reporting threshold for other taxable income from £2,500 to £3,000, and creating a single reporting threshold for property income at £3,000 gross (currently £2,500 profit or £10,000 gross income). The Capital Goods Scheme (CGS) Legislation will be introduced to increase the VAT CGS threshold for land, buildings and civil engineering works from £250,000 to £600,000 (exclusive of VAT). Computers will no longer be CGS assets. These changes will take effect at a later date within this parliament. Tax Administration Framework Review (TAFR) As part of the TAFR, the Government also published a summary of responses to the October 2024 consultation on new ways to tackle non-compliance which the Institute responded to in January 2025. This consultation explores ways to simplify and modernise HMRC’s approach to correcting taxpayer inaccuracies. The response document sets out the government response and next steps for HMRC which includes further considering reform of revenue correction powers, approaches to taxpayer self-correction and longer-term work to develop and test policy options to harmonise and simplify compliance powers across tax regimes. Combined with the newly launched consultation on improving HMRC’s approach to dispute resolution, the Governments says that the publication of these documents, along with other announced last week, represent a significant milestone in TAFR policy development. HMRC is holding a launch event for the above two documents at 10:00 – 10:45 on Thursday 15 May. This will provide a brief overview of the contents of the documents, how you can get involved and provide feedback. If you would like to attend, please email tafrcompliance@hmrc.gov.uk. HMRC will also be holding two online workshops on improving HMRC’s approach to dispute resolution, over the consultation period. Dates and further details about the workshops will be available soon. A range of consultation outcomes, new consultations and reviews were also announced details of which are summarised here (the information herein is taken verbatim from HMRC email and publications).

Revenue has published a new Stamp Duty manual Section 8C – Expression of Doubt which provides guidance on the expression of doubt facility. An expression of doubt can be submitted where there is a genuine doubt about the Stamp Duty treatment of an instrument. Where an expression of doubt is considered valid and genuine, and it subsequently transpires that Stamp Duty was underpaid in relation to the matter to which the expression of doubt relates, interest will not be applied to the underpaid taxes. The guidance outlines the steps involved in making a valid expression of doubt and the circumstances in which an expression of doubt will not be considered genuine by Revenue.

The Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) published its Annual Report for 2024, which provides details of the appeals processed in 2024. The TAC closed 1,711 appeals last year, valued at €355 million, noting that for the sixth year running the Commission closed more appeals than it received, reducing the number of appeals on hand from 1,141 to 711. Of the 1,711 appeals closed during 2024, 595 were settled, 628 were withdrawn by the appellant and 268 cases were either refused, dismissed or merged. 180 determinations were issued in relation to the remaining cases with a value of €34 million. Income tax appeal cases gave rise to 45 percent of the total appeal cases, with capital gains tax and VAT accounting for 13 percent and 11 percent respectively. The duration of the hearings ranged from a half day to three weeks, with 59 hearings scheduled remotely in 2024 compared to 162 in the previous year. During 2024 the Appeal Commissioners signed 11 cases stated pursuant to section 949AQ TCA 1997 to enable determinations to be appealed to the High Court. Of these 11 cases, 8 were requested by Appellants and 3 by the Revenue Commissioners. Commenting on the report, Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe welcomed its publication and acknowledged the vital service provided by the TAC as providers of a fair and accessible alternative to the courts for tax appeals.

From 30 June 2025, HMRC will be closing its online forums for both agents and taxpayers. Following discussions with stakeholders, including this Institute, and a review of both the agent and taxpayer online forums, HMRC has taken the decision to close both with effect from this date. According to HMRC, this decision reflects the increasing popularity of “newer, superior digital support channels and a move to modernise and improve the online services we offer”. In preparation for the closure, the forums will stop accepting new queries from early June 2025. Agent online forum As an alternative to the agent online forum, HMRC is reminding agents that a range of digital support channels are available which aim to offer tailored support to agents: Webchat - an agent only channel which aims to offer a faster alternative to phoning, @HMRCCustomers on ‘X’ (formerly twitter) - for help with general queries, Talking Points webinars - for information on a range of subjects with opportunities for participants to submit questions, The tax agents’ handbook – contains information to help tax agents and advisers find guidance, use HMRC services and contact HMRC, The HMRC service dashboard – provides information on current service levels for post and online queries, and The Agent Update - a monthly online publication of information specifically for the agent community. Taxpayer online forum Taxpayers can direct queries to the alternative digital support channels listed below. These also aim to offer a range of tailored support for queries. To ask a question: Visit contact HMRC, select the area you would like to contact and click ‘Ask HMRC online’. HMRC’s digital assistant can help with a variety of self-assessment and tax payment queries. If your query cannot be answered by the digital assistant, it will be escalated to an advisor, Contact @HMRCcustomers on X. For guidance and information: GOV.UK provides comprehensive written guidance and interactive products and guides, Access a range of recorded webinars and signup to receive notification of future webinars, Use the HMRC App as a quick and easy way to get information about your tax, and National Insurance, and Watch HMRC’s YouTube videos. According to HMRC, the closure of the forums aligns with HMRC's Digital Channel Strategy and will also allow HMRC to redirect resource to support its most popular channels and develop technologies that meet current and future needs.  

The Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary TD, released a press statement last week confirming 1 January 2026 as the start date for the Automatic Enrolment retirement savings system which will be known as “My Future Fund”. The rescheduling of the start date from 30 September this year is to provide additional preparation time for payroll providers and employers and will also facilitate the alignment of the new system with the standard tax year. The Minister noted in his press release that the additional time means payroll providers will be able to incorporate any changes that may arise from Budget 2026 this autumn resulting in employers being required to make only one update to their payroll systems. The additional lead-in time for employers, particularly small and micro businesses, is to ensure compliance with the legislation from the outset. The press release advises employers to ensure that they are ready to begin paying contributions as soon as they receive notice from the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA). The Department of Social Protection will continue its engagement with the Payroll Software Developers Association (PSDA) to ensure payroll software developers are fully aware of the technical specifications required to accommodate My Future Fund on their platforms. The appointment of the investment managers through the ongoing tender process will also continue. Further information and resources are available on the Government’s Auto-Enrolment Hub. 

Revenue announced the publication of the  2024 Annual Report last week  together with a number of other research and statistical papers. The total gross receipts during 2024 were €152.9 billion, which included €30.9 billion of non-Exchequer receipts collected on behalf of other government departments and agencies, and other EU States. Net tax receipts during 2024 were €107.1 billion, up €19.9 billion from 2023 with the largest receipts coming from corporation tax, income tax and VAT. Corporation tax receipts in 2024 include receipts arising from the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling in the Apple State Aid case. We have highlighted details from some of the key areas in the report and papers as follows: Service Delivery: timely compliance rates remained high with 99 percent for large and medium cases, and 92 percent for all other cases. An increasing use of online services was noted in the report with 4.3 million electronic returns processed across all online platforms and almost 16 million electronic payments and repayments being made. Facilitating Compliance and Confronting Non-Compliance: the tax yield last year from audit and compliance intervention was €591 million, together with an additional yield of €46 million from tax avoidance cases. Debt Warehouse Scheme: the report notes that one of the key corporate priorities for Revenue during 2024 was the pro-active management of the Debt Warehouse Scheme and assisting businesses to exit the warehouse in a viable manner. At its peak in January 2022, €3.2 billion was warehoused under the scheme. Over 93 percent of that debt (amounting to €3 billion) has now been either settled in full or secured under an agreed PPA. Promoting tax awareness: the public repository of almost 1,300 Tax and Duty Manuals which set out the rules and guidelines on a wide range of tax and duty matters was referenced in the report. Confronting noncompliance: the report outlines that publication on the lists of tax defaulters and prosecution in the Courts are seen as important deterrents in the fight against non-compliance. During 2024 details of settlements and court-imposed penalties, amounting to €32.5 million, in respect of 104 taxpayers, were published and secured 168 convictions before the Courts. Enhanced Reporting Requirement (‘ERR’): one of the statistical reports included in the release, Income Tax 2024: Insights on PAYE Taxpayers, notes that in 2024, a total of €1.872 billion was reported in benefits under the ERR requirements. VAT Modernisation: the report includes an article on VAT Modernisation (page 40) which provides a summary of the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package and the findings from the public consultation on this topic which was launched by Revenue at the end of 2023. Statistical analysis and research reports published alongside the Annual Report include: Corporation Tax 2024 Payments and 2023 Returns   Income Tax 2024: Insights on PAYE Taxpayers  VAT Payments and Returns 2024  Evaluation of Budget 2024 Compliance Measures  Survey of Medium Size Tax Agents 2024