Rent Relief  in Budget 2012

Rent Relief  is a very important tax credit for tax payers who are renting and paying tax.  For a single person in 2010, this was typically €400.  The Rent Relief Tax Credit was cut in Budget 2011 to €330, but could still be worth as much as €1,320 to you (calculate your own with this Rent Relief Tax Credit Calculator).

In reducing the Tax Credit in Budget 2011, the FF led government of the time indicated that they were phasing out the tax credit completely.  But they also snuck in a condition that the Tax Credit was not available to those who started renting for the first time after the 10th December  2010.  So anyone who started renting for the first time in 2011 is not eligible for a tax credit.

As the rent relief tax credit added an additional 10% to the standard tax credits of a person starting in work, this was a very significant hit that was under-reported.

Budget 2012 prediction

If the current government stick to the plan of the previous administration, we can expect the rent relief tax credit for single people under 55 to drop from €330 to €250 this year.  However, given reports that rents have started to firm in the last 6 months and all the other cuts and charges being introduced that are regressive in nature and hit the lower paid more, we think this may be one they decide not to touch.

PS The Rent Relief Tax Credit is not the same as the Rental Allowance.

by John O’Connor

Red Oak Tax Refunds