VAT on hospitality to return to prepandemic level

One of the most welcome, effective and longest in place measures introduced by the Government during Covid was to reduce the rate of VAT on various items in the hospitality sector, such as restaurant and catering services, and entertainment venues like cinemas, theatres, museums, amusement parks and hairdressing!

This will now end on 31st August next. This means the 9% rate will return to 13.5%. Please ensure you amend your product records/prices and point of sale systems to capture this as and from Friday 1st September next.

September means back to school, back to work, and back to income tax returns!

1st September signals the end to our alleged summer for many people, and a return to normality and reality. One of these normalities is personal income tax returns. The deadline to file returns is 31st October, but extended out to 14th November if you file on line. Why not make a resolution to send us your information in September to avoid any rush.

Have you dabbled in Crypto currency trading?

We are aware many people who have never bought or sold a share, have bought and sold Crypto on an App on their phone. The fortunate ones have made a profit, or at least got their money back.

Any profit on the sale of Crypto currency must be returned as a capital gain, just like a gain on a stock or property or any other asset. In addition to paying the tax, a return of the capital gain must be made.

For gains made between 1st January 2022 – 30th November 2022, the tax should have been paid by 15th December 2022.

For gains made between 1st – 31st December 2022, the tax should be paid by 31st January 2023.

In both cases, the Capital Gains tax return needs to be included on your income tax return for 2022, which we are now preparing. Please note that if you have ever made a capital loss in the past, this may in many circumstances be offset against any gain you have now made, subject to certain conditions.

If you have any concerns in regard to Capital Gains Tax, please contact Colum Whelan (colum@guardinama.ie)

Revenue get tough on Nursing Home expenses

Over the summer we have received correspondence in connection to a number of clients claim for medical expenses relief on nursing home fees having paid for their parent’s nursing home.

An important term on the legislation is that the person making the claim must have “actually defrayed the cost” and “has not been reimbursed, directly or indirectly, by the nursing home resident or by a third party in respect of such cost. (if so reimbursed, tax relief may be claimed on the amount paid to the nursing home, less the relief, may be claimed on the amount paid to the nursing home, less the amount reimbursed.)”

If your parents have loaned or gifted you the money to assist in making the nursing home payments, it is essential that this is documented correctly to avoid any potential clawback of tax relief received. The time to implement this is BEFORE you pay for any nursing home expenses, not after, as in many cases, that is too late, and will not qualify for tax relief. Contact Niall (niall@guardianma. ie) in the office if you have a concern in this.

Provisions of Work Life Balance Act coming into effect from 3rd July – leave for medical care purposes

The Act introduces up to five days’ unpaid leave, in any 12 consecutive months, per employee, where, for serious medical reasons, the employee is required to provide personal care or support to:

• A child under the age of 12 or, if the child is adopted, between the ages of 10 and 12 within two years of the adoption, or under the age of 16 if the child has a disability.

• A spouse/civil partner, cohabitant, parent, grandparent, sibling or someone who resides in the same household as the employee.

Medical care leave requirements shall be confirmed on a prescribed form submitted by the employee to their employer and leave cannot be taken in periods of less than one day. The employer may request relevant evidence from the employee of their relationship with the person needing medical care, the nature of the medical care required and medical certification of the serious medical issue.

This leave is only applicable for days on which the employee would have typically been due to work. This leave is in addition to existing entitlements under the Carer’s Leave Act 2001 and force majeure leave.

If you need further assistance with this, please contact Evelyn (evelyn@guardianma.ie) in our office.

Debt warehousing – practical update

In August we approached Revenue on a debt of c. €130,000. After a relatively short period of correspondence we signed off on a repayment plan over 7 years @ 3% interest with no downpayment. This has given our client great comfort and certainty, and they are confident at this level they can continue to trade and not have to liquidate.

If you are debt warehousing, our advice is to approach Revenue now, and put a plan in place before they get too busy next year and may not be as co-operative as they seem to be currently. Remember the latest date by which you must enter an agreement and start repayment is 1st May 2024.

As of May 2023 Revenue say they are still owed a total of €1.999 billion in taxes from over 61,278 businesses that are availing of debt warehousing. Of this 6,139 owe a total of €1.6 billion, all greater than €50,000.

Please note that even if you have not yet entered an agreement, Revenue are applying interest of 3% with effect from 1st May 2023 last.