879 Returns of income

Summary

An inspector may by notice request an individual to deliver a return of the various sources of income and the amounts derived from each source of income in any tax year. The income to be returned is to be computed in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Acts.

Chapter 3 of Part 41A should be consulted as regards the making of a return for Self Assessment purposes.

Details

(1) A “prescribed form” is the form prescribed by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of making a tax return for a tax year. Such form is to be, as far as possible, framed so as to elicit sufficient information as will enable an individual to make only one return of his/her income from all sources for that tax year.

(2) An inspector may request an individual to make a tax return – on the form designed by the Revenue Commissioners for this purposes – for a tax year and such return is to show —

• all the sources of the individual’s income for that tax year,
• the amount of income from each source, and
• any information, accounts, statements and other details requested in the form.

The information, accounts and statements requested would include the financial information, accounts or statements from which the adjusted profits and losses were computed and would include balance sheet details where prepared.

The “other details” requested generally includes items such as personal status, mortgage interest details, details of medical insurance premiums, details of capital allowances, etc. The purpose of this is to enable a proper assessment be made.

(3) The amount of income to be shown on a tax return is the income computed in accordance with the Income Tax Acts. In the case of income from a trade or profession the computation is based on the profits of the trade or profession for a 12 month period ending on a date within the tax year. [For the short tax year 2001, the computation is based on 74% of those profits.]

(4) A person who submits a tax return on the Revenue designed tax return form is deemed to have done so on foot of a request from an inspector. This ensures that, where a person delivers a return in the prescribed form, it will not be necessary, in any penalty proceedings, to prove that the return was made pursuant to a notice under this section.

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2021