Filing Your Form 11 Income Tax Return

A checklist of information required:

1. Personal Details – Name, Date of Birth and PPS number (for both yourself and your spouse)
2. Details of PAYE (employment income) or pension income received – This information can be obtained directly from either your employer via payroll or via your Revenue MyAccount login page. The main details you will need are the name of the employer, tax number of the employer, Gross Pay, Tax Paid and USC Paid
3. Details of any Social Welfare received – This information can be obtained from your Social Welfare office and is available via your Revenue MyAccount login page. Note that not all Social Welfare payments are taxable, and you should talk to a professional about your personal circumstances.
4. Details of income made from a Trade/Profession/Vocation – For this type of income, you will normally need a set of accounts completed to show a breakdown of your total income received and tax-deductible expenses incurred during the relevant year. On ROS, you will need these details to complete an accounts extract for each trade or profession. It is important to note that farming is classified as a “trade” in Ireland and would come under this section
5. Details of capital allowances – Capital allowances allow businesses to claim deductions for certain types of assets and premises they purchase. These deductions are typically based on the net cost of the asset or premises and vary by asset type. For instance, plant and machinery qualify for a 12.5% deduction over eight years, while most industrial buildings qualify for a 4% deduction over 25 years.
6. Details of losses (both carried forward or current) – Where a business incurs losses in their trade, these can be offset against other income for the year or carried forward against future profits of the same trade
7. Details of Rental Income received and related expenses – Total Rental Income for the year will need to be calculated, and any allowable expenses deducted to work out what rental profit (if any) is taxable. It is important to note that any rental losses incurred can only be carried forward against future rental profits and can’t be offset against your other income in a given year (like can be done where the income relates to a trade)
8. Details of other income received during the year – This could include details of any foreign income received, any Dividend income received or any exempt income received (i.e. Artists exemption, rent-a-room relief, forestry or woodlands income)
9. Details of health expenses incurred (You can receive tax back of 20% on qualifying health expenses)
10. Pension payments – You will also need to confirm what pension payments you made during the year, as tax relief may be available for these payments as well, depending on the type of pension and amounts paid;
11. Confirmation of whether they fall under the high earner’s restriction (will usually be a factor where your income exceeds €125,000 and you make use of tax reliefs against same)
12. Details of any capital gains (Note this is a different tax heading; however, it is also returned on a panel of the Form 11)
13. Confirmation of tax credits being claimed – Generally, you are entitled to tax credits, and these are recorded on your tax credit certificate, which is available from Revenue. Sometimes, you may be entitled to extra tax credits, so it is important to check what is recorded on your tax credit certificate vs. what is being claimed

A prepopulated return will usually contain the following information:

• Name, address, and PPS number for individual and spouse of jointly assessed
• Details of Gross pay, tax paid and Universal Social Charge reported by your employer
• Details of pension and social welfare benefit payments from the Department of Social Protection (DSP)
• Details of any health expenses which were uploaded by customers on the RevApp during the year
• Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT) data on gross payments and credit for those involved in the construction sector.

It is always important to check that the details held by Revenue are the same as per your payslips and Social Welfare receipts.

To complete the Form 11 return, you will then need to enter the following additional information, which Revenue wouldn’t have on file:

• Confirmation of tax residency (i.e. Did you live and work in Ireland during the tax year, or were you based outside Ireland and deemed non-resident?)
• Details of any rental income received (if applicable)
• Details of any foreign income received (if applicable)
• Details of any income received from fees, covenants, and dividend distributions (if applicable)
• Details of any exempt income received (i.e. Artists exemption, rent-a-room relief, forestry or woodlands income)
• Details of health expenses not previously provided to Revenue
• Any other relevant information not held on account by Revenue

The main steps involved are as follows:

• Calculation of Total Income – This will add up the total income received during the year from all sources (i.e employment income, trade income, social welfare income, rental income, etc)
• Deduction of capital allowances and losses – Any capital allowances or losses which can reduce the taxable income amount will then be deducted. This will then let you know what your taxable income figure is
• Calculation of PAYE tax payable – Your taxable income figure is then checked to see how much falls under the lower 20% rate of tax and how much falls under the 40% higher tax rate. This is known as the tax bands and this information is available on your tax credit certificate.
• Deduction of tax credits – You can now deduct the tax credits you are entitled to for the year which will reduce your tax liability

• Calculation of PRSI and USC payable – Your total income will also be the basis for calculating what PRSI and USC liability is due on your income for the period. PRSI is chargeable at 4% of your income, while USC is charged at different rates depending on the level of your income

• Deduction of PAYE and USC already paid – Having now calculated your overall Income Tax liability, you may deduct any tax or USC already paid through the PAYE system

• Final tax liability or refund – This will let you know what your final Income Tax liability or refund is for the year