Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This section makes a number of amendments to the rent tax credit, which was introduced in Finance Act 2022. This tax credit is for those who pay rent on their principal private residence, or another property they use to facilitate their work or study obligations. The credit is being increased for the tax years 2024 and 2025 from €500 to €750 for a single person or from €1,000 to €1,500 for a jointly assessed couple. This increase aims to provide further support to those tenants who do not otherwise receive State support. Eligibility for the credit is also being extended to parents who pay for their student children’s rental accommodation, or in the case of the rent-a-room scheme accommodation or digs. This change will apply retrospectively to 2022 and 2023. Parents could previously only claim the credit in respect of their qualifying student children in the case of accommodation registered with the Residential Tenancies Board. A further amendment restricts claims for the rent tax credit by Members of the Oireachtas who receive certain allowances in respect of a related tenancy. The credit will continue to be available until 31 December 2025.

I will speak to the numbers. As colleagues will know, during last year's budget process when this tax credit was introduced, it was estimated that approximately 400,000 individual persons were eligible to claim the rent tax credit for 2022. The same figure was estimated for 2024. In terms of claims to date, I am further advised that as of 22 October 2023, some 300,958 rent tax credits have been claimed by more than 261,347 taxpayer units. This consists of 202,873 taxpayer units who made claims for 2022 only, 39,611 who made claims for 2022 and 2023 and 18,863 taxpayer units who made claims for 2023 only. The total amount of rent tax credit claimed for the tax year 2022 up to 28 September 2023 amounts to €133.59 million. The total amount claimed for the tax year 2023 to date amounts to €31.86 million.