Workers in Ireland could be due back thousands after “anomalies” were found.
Recently, it emerged that people might be losing out on tax allowances following issues found around flat-rate employment expenses.
According to tax refund specialists, these “anomalies” mean that some people in employment are only entitled to claim half the tax allowance of their counterparts.
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This has resulted in particular occupations and professions being entitled to much more generous allowances than others.
Flat rate expenses allow certain workers to cover some of the costs incurred in carrying out their work.
Taxback, a website that provides tax solutions for people, is now calling on Revenue Commissioners to address these “bizarre” anomalies so that all workers get their fair do’s.
The anomalies include
- Female cardiac technicians can claim a higher annual tax allowance than their male counterparts (€212 versus €107).
- Doctors, nurses, opticians and veterinary surgeons can claim back the cost, or a portion of the cost, of mandatory registration fees for their professions, but veterinary nurses cannot.
- Nurses who supply and launder their own uniforms can claim an annual allowance of €733, but nursing assistants only get an allowance of €526. Hospital kitchen porters have to make do with €360 as do hospital cooks, catering supervisors, waitresses and catering staff.
- Others who receive a much smaller annual allowance than nurses for the supply and laundry of their own uniforms include cosmetologists (€160), occupational therapists (€217), physiotherapists (€381) and veterinary nurses (€400).
- Waiters aren’t specifically entitled to a tax allowance for the supply and laundry of uniforms – the general annual flat-rate expense allowance of €80 is all they will get to cover this cost.
Speaking about the discrepancies, Marian Ryan, consumer tax manager with Taxback said: “Flat-rate employment expense allowances can be valuable for workers - worth hundreds, and in some cases, even thousands of euro a year.
“For unknown reasons, there are bizarre discrepancies in these allowances which mean many workers perhaps unfairly get better allowances than others, while some workers lose out entirely.
“We cannot understand why, for example, veterinary surgeons can claim their professional registration fees back as a flat-rate tax allowance, while veterinary nurses cannot.
“In a parliamentary question put to him about eight months ago, the then Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said that on foot of a Revenue review of flat-rate expense rates, it is intended that veterinary nurses will be able to claim back their mandatory registration fee through the flat-rate expense allowance system.
“However, this has not yet happened.”
Due to this, Taxback is calling out for an overhaul of flat-rate employment expense allowances to include an adjustment of the allowances in line with inflation as well as the introduction of a flat-rate expense for e-workers and for office workers across the board to be entitled to the allowances.
Ms Ryan added: “We believe that office workers should be able to claim the flat-rate expense allowance, regardless of worker category, to reflect the office clothes and other costs they incur in the course of their work.
“Not all office workers are currently entitled to the allowance, even though they make up a large portion of the working population.
“A flat-rate expense for e-workers should also be considered – to replace the remote working relief which currently must be claimed by remote workers. Remote working relief is an underclaimed relief.
“It’s more than four years now since Revenue conducted a review of flat-rate expenses allowances.
“Any planned changes to the allowances had been deferred until January 1, 2023, but Revenue recently said that a further review is now required, given the passage of time since the initial review.
“There is no time for any further delays – Revenue must now make the overhaul of flat-rate expense allowances is priority.
“Given the huge inflation of recent years, this allowance will go a long way for many workers so it is important that more are given the opportunity to claim it – and that any unfairness in allowance rate is eradicated.”
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