Revenue letter re offshore

Firstly if you have received one of these letters you are not alone! Hundreds of thousands of these letters were sent to taxpayers in the last couple of weeks.

Revenue are using this opportunity to encourage taxpayers to review their returns prior to amended rules coming in to effect as regards the penalties and sanctions imposed on people who incorrectly declare income from foreign sources.

From 1 May 2017 you will no longer be able to avail of reduced penalties in cases where you admit to Revenue that you made an error in calculating your taxes on income from foreign sources e.g. UK Pension, Rental property in Spain etc.

From that date on you will be open to the more stringent sanctions which include significantly increased penalties, publication on the tax defaulters list and, in limited circumstances, criminal prosecution.

If you received this letter and you are satisfied that all you tax affairs are up to date you can ignore the letter. If you are concerned in any way then you should contact your accountant straight away to review any potential issues you may have.

Date published 3 Mar 2017

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.