Five mistakes to avoid when filing your tax return this year

It seems to come around quicker and quicker each year and never gets any easier… the dreaded tax return deadline is looming large for taxpayers across the country.

To make your life a little easier, we list the top five mistakes to avoid, ensuring that you stay in the Revenue’s good books, whilst minimising the amount you have to pay.

1. Don’t miss the deadline!

It may seem straightforward, but every year people leave their return until the last minute and end up missing the deadline completely. This will lead to Revenue hitting you with a late filing surcharge, while also increasing your chances of being selected for audit.

The Income Tax deadline for the 2016 tax year is 31 October 2017. If you choose to file your tax return online using Revenue Online Service (ROS) and also make your full tax payment online, you can avail of a pay and file extension to 14 November 2017.

2. Claim all your tax credits

Often people mistakenly assume that Revenue will apply any tax credits that they are entitled to. Tax credits are not automatically applied and you must apply for them yourself through your tax return.

Tax credits, such as the Home Carer Tax credit can save thousands in tax, and if you were entitled to additional tax credits but never claimed them in previous years, you can amend your tax returns as far back as 2013 and reclaim any monies due to you.

3. Claim all your expenses

There is a huge fear amongst those preparing their tax return that they will overclaim expenses against their income and end up in trouble with Revenue. This often leads to legitimate business expenses being omitted from the calculations resulting in a higher tax bill.

For example, if you use part of your home as an office you can claim expenses associated with that, for example, light and heat.

4. Don’t forget to use losses from previous years to reduce your tax bill

Many businesses may have incurred losses during the economic downturn and you can carry these losses forward and offset them against any profits from the same trade in the current year if they have not been utilised already.

5. Trying to do it all yourself

The tax rules are constantly changing and unless you are spending a huge amount of time keeping up to speed on the latest developments the chances are you will make a mistake on your tax return.

Take all the worry and stress out of this job and engage the services of an accountant. Your accountancy bill is tax deductible too so it might end up costing you a lot less than you think!

Date published 25 Sep 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.