On 8 September the Ulster Society hosted a webinar on Pension Wellbeing with Alex Price and Jonathan Gillespie of Legacy Wealth Management. The session will provided a comprehensive overview of key pension planning areas essential for both personal and client advisory work.  It covered tax relief opportunities, the impact of tapering rules on high earners, and the treatment of pension death benefits before and after age 75. The session also explored the intersection of pensions and Inheritance Tax (IHT), with a focus on the significant legislative changes expected post-2027. A recording of this webinar is available to view, for free and on demand, HERE A pdf copy of the slides used in the presentation is available HERE

Revenue has updated a number guidance notes on the operation of Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) to include details on the process for non- resident owners to obtain a tax registration number. The updated manuals include the RZLT Site Sale or Transfer Guidelines, the guidance on RZLT Registration and RZLT Return. The guidelines on RZLT registration have also been updated to include information on the e-linking process. This information has also been included in the guidance on the RZLT return together with information relating to the Abatement Claim Form process.

Revenue has updated the guidelines for VAT registration to include relevant application details, details on turnover and registration thresholds and the EU VAT SME scheme. Further information on the EU VAT scheme was included in our newsletter last week.

Revenue has updated the Research and Development (R&D) Corporation Tax Credit: Appointment of expert to assist in audits guidance to reflect the establishment of a new independent expert panel effective from 8 August 2025 and to confirm that the panel will operate for a duration of two years.

Revenue has updated the pensions manual providing guidance on the transfer of deferred pension benefits. The updated guide provides clarity on the transfer of deferred benefits from an occupational pension scheme to a PRSA. Details relating to the transfers from overseas arrangements to an Irish scheme and from an Irish scheme to an overseas arrangements are also outlined in the guidance. 

Revenue has updated the guidance on Donations to Approved Sports Bodies to reflect Finance Act 2024 amendments to the tax relief available for donations to "approved sports bodies” used for the funding of certain capital projects. The updates to the guidance include the following: The new procedures for self-assessed and PAYE individuals who can now opt to either claim a deduction for a relevant donation against their total income or surrender the relief to the approved sports body - examples are included in the appendix. Confirmation that an approved sports body must issue a receipt acknowledging the payment of a relevant donation, regardless of the donor category – PAYE, self-assessed individuals and companies. Confirmation that the relief given by the donor to the approved sports body will be claimable by the body on or after 1 December in the year after the relevant year of assessment in which the donation is made. A summary of the steps involved in the section 847A TCA claim process has been updated to reflect the new system.  

Revenue has issued updated guidance on ROS Pay and File – useful tips to provide details on recent changes. The updates include the following: A link to further information on Revenue’s new agent eLinking facility, An update to methods payment to confirm payments via commercial debit cards will no longer be accepted from 1 September 2025, A link and further information on Residential Premises Rental Income Relief (RPRIR), and A link and further information on Retrofitting Rental Properties Relief (RRPR).

The Central Statistics Office has published the Quarterly National Accounts  for the second quarter of 2025 confirming GDP increased by 0.2 percent in the second quarter of this year and Modified Domestic Demand grew by 0.6 per cent in the quarter. The publication outlines a growth of 3.7 percent in wages in the quarter and a continual growth in consumer spending of one percent over the quarter. Commenting on the figures, Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe said: “I note that GDP remained elevated in the second quarter driven by significant production in the multinational sector. The elevated level of activity in the first half of the year is attributable, in part, to the front-loading of exports to the US in advance of tariffs. This is expected to moderate over the coming quarters.  Of course, GDP is not an accurate reflection of living standards in Ireland. Indeed, my preferred metric – Modified Domestic Demand – presents a better approximation of domestic activity. On this basis, the domestic economy grew by 0.6 per cent relative to the previous quarter and is up around 3.75 per cent in the first half of the year on an annual basis. This is consistent with the strength of the labour market where the number in employment reached an all-time high of over 2.8 million in the second quarter.  I am particularly encouraged by the increase in investment in the second quarter. Indeed, despite elevated uncertainty, modified investment recorded an annual increase of over 7 per cent on an annual basis, driven by activity in the building and construction sector.” 

Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, announced in a You Tube video that the next UK Budget will take place on the later than anticipated date of Wednesday 26 November. As usual, the Institute will be reacting on the day to the Budget announcements and will issue a special newsletter to members. In recent months, the Chancellor remains under pressure to balance public finances, whilst trying to also boost economic growth and maintain the confidence of investors in financial markets. However, growth remains sluggish and inflation has been increasing. Economists therefore continue to say that further tax rises are needed. Speculation has been rife about what options the Chancellor has for tax rises, given that the Government pledged in its election manifesto not to increase taxes on working people. Last Monday also saw a reshuffle of some roles in Government including the appointment of Daniel Tomlinson MP to the role of Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, after James Murray MP was moved into the role of Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Last week, members of the Institute’s Tax and Public Policy team met with senior representatives from the Department of Finance and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland in our continued effort to highlight the disproportionate impact that the April 2026 restrictions to the Inheritance Tax (IHT) reliefs, agricultural property relief and business property relief, will have in Northern Ireland (NI). The meeting followed on from a recent letter from the Minister of Finance in response to the Institute having previously shared with local government its April 2025 letter to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (XST) on this issue. The Institute continues to call on the UK Government to introduce a special derogation for the region from these changes and will be making further representations on this key issue for the agricultural and family owned business sectors in NI ahead of the Autumn Budget on 26 November. During the meeting it was clear that local government shares our concerns in relation to this. Government representatives also outlined the wide range of work being undertaken locally to discuss this, particularly by the Minister of Finance, with Westminster. This includes direct engagement with the Chancellor of the Exchequer at a meeting last month in Stormont Castle. At present, HM Treasury continues to insist in discussions and in the policy paper published with the draft legislation on L-day in July that their data shows these changes will have minimal impact. They are also resisting all representations on how the draft legislation could be mitigated. The Institute set out a range of mitigations in its letter to the XST earlier this year to reduce the impact on genuine farming activity and the family owned business sector. During the meeting, the Institute also took the opportunity to highlight its recently launched refreshed campaign for a lower rate of corporation tax in NI as outlined in the position paper “Enhancing Our Competitiveness”, which was launched in June.

In a recent press release, Revenue advised that it has commenced the final stage of its 2025 PAYE correspondence campaign and intends issuing letters to PAYE taxpayers who, based on information available to Revenue, may have overpaid or underpaid tax in 2023. As part of the campaign, Revenue has highlighted that 31 December 2025 is the deadline for claiming any additional tax credits or reliefs due for the 2021 tax year. Revenue’s letter campaign explains that a Preliminary End of Year Statement (PEOYS) is available in myAccount for all PAYE taxpayers. This statement shows if the taxpayers provisional tax position is balanced or if there may be an overpayment or underpayment. To finalise their tax position, taxpayers review the PEOYS and add any missing information when completing their PAYE Income Tax Return. Addressing concerns that PAYE taxpayers may have if they have an underpayment, Aisling Ní Mhaoileoin, Revenue’s National PAYE manager, commented as follows: “If you owe Revenue money, we’ll work with you to find a suitable payment option. We generally collect any underpayment by reducing the taxpayer’s future tax credits over a period of four years. This means that an underpayment of €400 will be collected by reducing the individual’s tax credits by approximately €2 a week over the next four years. If a taxpayer is entitled to claim any additional tax credits or reliefs, this may reduce any underpayment they have. It is, therefore, vitally important for PAYE taxpayers to file a PAYE Income Tax Return and finalise their tax position.”

The Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, made representations on behalf of members at last week’s meeting of the Tax Administration Liaison Committee (TALC) Collections sub-committee. The topics discussed included an update from Revenue on Local Property Tax (LPT) in relation to the revaluation date of 1 November 2025. Revenue also provided updates on its banking modernisation programme and agent notifications of weekly Payment Demands and Final Demands notices issued to clients. Revenue informed the meeting that it has written to 286,000 PAYE taxpayers with over/underpayments of tax for 2023. It was also agreed that a bespoke meeting to discuss simplification of the Form CT1 2026 is to be scheduled later this year. The Institute has consistently raised the growth in complexity in the Form CT1 in recent years and hopes this meeting will commence a process to substantially simplify the Form CT1 in the future. LPT 2025 is a revaluation year for LPT. Revenue is to begin a communication campaign to 1.5 million property owners regarding revaluing 2.2 million properties from mid-September 2025. Property owners will be required to: Value the property as at 1 November 2025, Submit the property valuation to Revenue and file a return by 7 November 2025, and Confirm the preferred payment arrangement for 2026. The valuation on 1 November 2025 will apply for the years 2026 to 2030 inclusive. The LPT portal and website content are due to be updated from mid-September for the new revaluation period. Banking modernisation programme Revenue has confirmed that Phase 1 of its banking modernisation programme has gone live since 11 August. In this regard, Revenue has written to 23,000 taxpayers that pay preliminary tax by direct debit detailing the new payment mandate number. No action is required by the taxpayers. 11,000 VAT fixed direct debit (FDD) taxpayers have been impacted by the change. Taxpayers who have yet to transition from paying VAT by FDD and who wish to change the FDD amount,  must do so by sending a request via MyEnquiries as the relevant functionality will no longer be available. Taxpayers wishing to migrate to a simplified arrangement must make an application to the Collector General’s Division. Phase 2 has commenced and Revenue intends to redesign the ROS debit instruction (RDI) and single debit instruction (SDI). Non-resident Landlord Withholding Tax, LPT and Vacant Homes Tax will be integrated onto a payment’s hub by January 2026. Agent lists of initial and final demands Revenue acknowledged the positive level of agent engagement since it began issuing agent notifications of client Payment Demands and Final Demands notices to the agent ROS Inbox earlier this summer. 2023 PAYE campaign From 1 September 2025 Revenue has commenced issuing letters to 286,000 PAYE taxpayers with possible under/overpayments of tax for 2023. Taxpayers are required to include details of any income they may have from other sources, including taxable payments from the Department of Social Protection. Revenue reminded the forum that PAYE taxpayers can access a Preliminary Statement from 1 January in the year following the year of assessment via MyAccount. Accordingly, the provisional tax position for 2024 PAYE taxpayers is already available to view.