Income Tax
Income Tax affects everybody, from the PAYE worker to the company executive. It is the government's largest source of revenue and the cornerstone of tax legislation. In light of this it may not be surprising that Income Tax advice and planning is a speciality of Brett & Co. The following are only some of the areas under the Income Tax heading on which we can advise you:
topSole Traders & Partnership Trades
If you are running your own business, one of the most important issues is to ensure that you are tax compliant and that your tax affairs are structured as efficiently as possible. The tax you pay at the end of the year is likely to be one of your biggest business costs.
topResidence and Working Abroad
Residence and Domicile are particularly important in determining if an individual
is liable to Irish Income Tax.
These concepts are especially relevant to people who are leaving the State to work abroad,
individuals who are returning to Ireland or those who are arriving here for the first time.
It is vital to seek the right advice in this area to avoid incurring unnecessary tax.
There may be reliefs available to those who spend a substantial part of any tax year outside the State and we can discuss your situation with you and ensure that your tax obligations are met without unnecessary cost.
topEmployment
As an employed person, it is easy to see tax as just another deduction from your salary which is put to the back of your mind until budget day, when changes in tax credits and bands bring tax briefly to the fore.
Although the PAYE system takes the burden of administering tax payments away from the employee, such convenience can lead to employees not claiming credits and reliefs available to them. On the other hand, where an employer deducts less than the correct amount, this can lead to higher tax payments in future years.
It is worthwhile to spend some time ensuring that you are not paying more than you should in income tax or PRSI and of course, that you are not underpaying either. We can discuss all of the above matters with you and other issues including:
- Benefits-in-kind.
- Pension contributions.
- Participation in employer share schemes.
- Taxation of redundancy payments.
- Interaction of PAYE/PRSI with tax on other income such as trading income, rental income, interest income and dividends.
topRental Income
The taxation of rental income has its own rules and reliefs. Many of the tax based investment schemes still in existence revolve around relief from tax on rental income.
If you are a landlord or lessor, be it of residential or commercial property, we can administer your tax affairs and advise you on all aspects of rental income taxation.
Our services include:
- Computations of tax on rental income.
- Advice on tax-based property investments.
- Advising on any liability to Irish Tax on rental income from foreign properties.
topRelevant Contracts Tax (RCT)
Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT) is designed to ensure subcontractors in the construction, forestry and meat processing industries pay their share of income tax on their earnings. Whilst successful from a tax revenue and compliance point of view, RCT has placed a hefty administrative burden on principal and sub-contractors in these industries.
We can take a lot of that burden away from both principal and sub-contractors by looking after all administrative issues regarding RCT.
topEstates & Trusts
During the administration period of the estate of a deceased person, income earned by the estate will be assessable to income tax. There may also be outstanding income tax issues of the deceased prior to death, which must be resolved. Furthermore, if distributions of income are made to beneficiaries during this period the operation of income tax thereon can be complex and burdensome. We can help by advising personal representatives and administrators on the taxation issues of estates during administration.
In the past, placing income earning assets in trust was a tax effective method of passing benefits onto a beneficiary. However, there is now a raft of anti-avoidance legislation in the trust area and a detailed knowledge of all legislation is required when dealing with the tax issues arising from trust settlements.
Specifically in relation to trusts, we can:
- Advise on the income tax exposure and filing obligations of trustees, settlors and beneficiaries in relation to income earned by trusts.
- Provide specialist advice on the Irish income tax exposure of non-resident trusts.
- Advise on the capital gains tax exposures of resident and non-resident trusts (see the Trusts & CGT section of our Capital Gains Tax page).
- Advise on any liability to discretionary trust tax and the capital acquisitions tax exposure of beneficiaries when receiving assets from a trust. (see the Trusts section of our Capital Acquisitions Tax page).
topForeign Income
Calculating the amount of Irish tax, if any, payable on income from a foreign source can be complicated and will depend on numerous factors. We can advise you of your liability to Irish tax on any foreign income, be it trading, employment, rental or investment income.
An area requiring particular care is tax on the income of individuals arriving in Ireland for the first time, or returning after an extended period abroad. Without due thought, it can be easy to end up with unnecessary tax liabilities, and we can advise you on how best to manage your affairs to avoid this.
topIncome Tax Management
There are many areas within Income Tax where unnecessary tax liabilities can be avoided by ensuring your affairs are structured in a tax efficient manner. Whether we are advising on a tax-based investment scheme or a once-off compliance issue, we will always endeavour to highlight any opportunities that exist for better tax management.
For those who wish to invest in a project which has the added incentive of reductions in their income tax bill, there are several tax efficient investment schemes available, however obtaining the correct advice on whether any, and if so, which one suits you is vital. We can advise any individual on the taxation benefits of each scheme and whether or not a particular scheme is suited to that individual's ultimate goals.