Tax Return Deadline 2012

This month sees the return of the tax return deadline; will you have your affairs in order before midnight on October 31st?

It's October again and that can mean only one thing for businesses and individuals that file tax returns; deadline time.

Taxpayers have until midnight on October 31st to submit their paper tax returns to Revenue.

Surcharges

If a taxpayer submits a paper return at any point beyond the October 31st deadline they will be issued with a surcharge of 5% of their tax liability for the year (before any payments).  If the return is more than 2 months late this surcharge is increased to 10%. For example a proprietary Director files their income tax return 3 months late.  Their tax liability for the year was €15,000 which was paid through the PAYE system.  A surcharge of €1,500 would be payable even though there is no tax liability outstanding.

There are a number of documents that businesses and individuals will need to collate in order to submit their returns and those who feel they may be running out of time could benefit from contacting an accountant or registering for online filing as this could see them receive a deadline extension. If you opt to pay and file online through Revenue’s online system (ROS) the deadline is extended to the 15th November 2012.  It is important to register in time as it can take a number of weeks to 

Online System now compulsory for some

Revenue are strongly encouraging people to use the online system.  The big change this year is that Revenue have in fact made it compulsory for a number of taxpayers to file their returns electronically.   These include individuals who are claiming tax reliefs such as for pension contributions or property reliefs.  So even though you may have submitted your tax return in paper format in previous years Revenue may no longer accept your paper return.  If Revenue reject the paper return and you also miss the ROS deadline you may be liable to the surcharge discussed above.

Those who have yet to get their receipts and other documents in order could be inspired to seek the advice of a specialist tax accountancy service. This would not only help to ensure that a business's tax affairs are all in order, allowing the owner to operate safe in the knowledge that they have no outstanding tax debts, but also help to avoid any of the penalty fines that are issued by Revenue for late filing of tax returns.

Date published 1 Aug 2012

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.