Experts say thousands of taxpayers could be penalised by Revenue for not Filing Electronically Penalties Start at €1,520

In March of this year, as part of Phase 4 of part of Revenue’s long term strategy to make the electronic filing of tax return the norm in Ireland, Revenue advised a significant number of taxpayers that they would be required to file their tax returns and make any payments due by electronic means using ROS. Among those affected by Revenue’s move were individuals that claim relief for PRSA contributions, AVC’s, Retirement Annuity Contract (RAC) payments, Film Relief, BES relief, Artists exemption, Retirement Relief for Sportspersons as well as all VAT registered cases. Tax experts at www.taxback.com <http://www.taxback.com>  say that these people have just 3weeks to file correctly or they will face fines of €1,520 or more.

According to Darren Byrne, tax expert with www.taxback.com <http://www.taxback.com> , “Revenue have also advised that even if individuals did not receive a letter from Revenue advising them of their new obligations they are still obliged to pay and file electronically if they find themselves in one of the categories listed above.
The penalties imposed by Revenue for failing to meet these obligations are quite significant. The penalty for a taxpayer not making an electronic payment or filing a return is €1,520 i.e. in each instance where the taxpayer does not pay electronically the penalty is €1,520 and in each instance where the taxpayer does not file a tax return electronically the penalty is €1,520”.
Some 600,000 individuals file tax returns in Ireland each year. Historically, all tax returns were filed in paper format and gradually, as technology improved, the option became available for individuals to both file their tax return and pay their liability electronically. Revenue’s Online Service (ROS), is part of Revenue’s long term strategy to make the electronic filing of tax return the norm in Ireland. Since Revenue’s Mandatory e-Filing programme commenced with Phase 1 in January 2009 the number of taxpayers obliged to file their tax return electronically has been expanding.

Darren continued, “These penalties are quite punitive and may mount quickly, particularly if a taxpayer remains oblivious to their new obligations for any period of time.
A person may apply to Revenue to be excluded from the requirement to pay and file electronically on the grounds of a lack of capacity to fulfill their obligations however it remains to be seen how readily Revenue will grant these exclusions”.

The filing deadline for 2011 income tax returns is 31st October 2012. This deadline is extended to 15th November 2012 for those individuals that both file their tax return and pay their liability electronically.

Taxback.com is a multi-national corporation providing specialist tax return services to private and corporate clients across 100 countries. Taxback.com was the overall winner of the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Ireland and winner of a Deloitte Best Managed Companies Award in 2011.
Established in Dublin in 1996 and led by a team of entrepreneurial business executives, taxback.com has 27 offices worldwide, in Europe, Australasia, the United States and South America, and a staff of over 670.