I propose to take Questions Nos. 98, 108, 117, 124, 129, 132 and 154 together.
The Rent Tax Credit, as provided for in section 473B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, was introduced by Finance Act 2022 and may be claimed in respect of qualifying rent paid in 2022 and subsequent years to end-2025. The maximum value of the credit is €1,000 per year in the case of a jointly assessed married couple or civil partners, and €500 in all other cases.
I am advised by Revenue that the Rent Tax Credit statistics currently available refer only to claims by PAYE taxpayers for the 2022 tax year and the 2023 tax year to-date.
Data on claims by self-assessed taxpayers are not yet available as these taxpayers’ returns are generally submitted later in the year. The statutory filing date for the 2022 tax return for self-assessed taxpayers is 31 October 2023.Claims in respect of the 2022 year of assessment can be made by PAYE taxpayers by submitting an Income Tax return for that year. For claims relating to 2023, PAYE taxpayers have the option of claiming the rent tax credit due to them either as rent is incurred or at the end of the year through their Income Tax return.Rent Tax Credit claims are made on a ‘taxpayer unit’ basis. A taxpayer unit is either an individual with any personal status who is singly assessed or a couple in a marriage or civil partnership who have elected for joint assessment.I am further advised that as of the 28 September 2023, over 289,971 Rent Tax Credit claims have been made by 254,527 taxpayer units consisting of:
• 203,000 taxpayer units that made claims for 2022 only,
• 35,444 taxpayer units that made claims for both 2022 and 2023,
• 16,083 taxpayer units that made claims for 2023 only.
The total amount of Rent Tax Credit claimed for the tax year 2022 to-date amounts to €133.59 million and total amount claimed for the tax year 2023 to-date amounts to €31.86 million.
The operation of the Rent Tax Credit is closely monitored by my Department in conjunction with Revenue and the question of whether any further adjustments are required is for consideration in the context of the Budget and Finance Bill process.
As the Deputies will appreciate, it is a longstanding practice that the Minister for Finance does not comment, in advance of the Budget, on any matters that might be the subject of a Budget decision.
As of the 28th of September 2023, data by county on the number of taxpayer units that made Rent Tax Credit claims for the years 2022 and 2023 are as follows.
Carlow, 2,157 taxpayer units made claims for 2022 and 468 taxpayer units made claims for 2023.
Cavan, 1,949 and 456.
Clare, 2,937 and 706
Cork, 27,125 and 5,710
Donegal, 2,990 and 745
Dublin, 112,836 and 23,082
Galway, 17,171 and 3,627
Kerry, 3,560 and 799
Kildare, 8,399 and 1,933.
Kilkenny, 2,486 and 614
Laois, 1,841 and 477
Leitrim, 776 and 176
Limerick, 11,689 and 2,309
Longford, 1,391 and 312
Louth, 3,179 and 808
Mayo, 3,404 and 817
Meath, 4,341 and 1,104
Monaghan, 1,611 and 395
Offaly, 1,929 and 463
Roscommon, 1,541 and 390
Sligo, 2,793 and 627
Tipperary, 4,069 and 918
Waterford, 4,561 and 1,100
Westmeath, 3,467 and 867
Wexford, 3,714 and 852
Wicklow, 2,848 and 732
Information is not yet available in relation to 3,680 taxpayer units that made claims for 2022 and 1,040 taxpayer units that made claims for 2023.