Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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70. To ask the Minister for Finance the amount his Department received in overpaid PAYE taxes in 2021 and 2022; the measures that are in place to make individuals aware of any overpayments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3140/23]

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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For various reasons, a large number of PAYE workers end up with overpayments of tax, whether this is because they change jobs, credits that they may not have claimed, emergency tax or a range of different reasons. This year more than ever, people are under phenomenal pressure to pay bills. Various supports are in place, but there is still huge pressure on people in paying for food, energy and so on. What measures are being taken to ensure that their earned money is in their pockets and not with Revenue?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by Revenue that, to date, it has refunded €554 million to PAYE taxpayers in respect of 2021 and €193 million in respect of 2022. In 2022, Revenue wrote to over 400,000 individuals who, based on the information available to Revenue, may have overpaid or underpaid tax in some or all of the years 2019 to 2021, inclusive. These letters provide a preliminary tax position, advising the recipients to submit a tax return to claim any additional tax credits or reliefs that they may be due and-or to declare any additional income they may have received.

As of 23 January this year, more than 1.1 million PAYE employees have submitted tax returns in respect of 2021 and more than 370,000 PAYE employees have submitted their returns in respect of 2022. Any overpayments due to PAYE taxpayers can only be quantified when they submit their tax returns at the end of the year and claim any additional credits or reliefs that may be due and declare any additional income received.

At the end of every year, Revenue makes a preliminary end-of-year statement available to all employees. The statement sets out a provisional tax position, based on information available on Revenue records. It will show whether an employee has paid the correct income tax and universal social charge for the year. If a taxpayer wishes to claim additional credits, reliefs, or expenses, such as health expenses, or declare other incomes, they must complete an income tax return for the year. Revenue will then generate a statement of liability confirming their final tax position.

Revenue encourages taxpayers to submit their returns to ensure that they are paying the correct tax and to receive any refunds that they may be due.

For the remaining PAYE taxpayer units, where jointly assessed spouses or civil partners are counted as one unit, with a preliminary end-of-year statement for 2022 and who are yet to file an income tax return the following is the case: about 1.4 million, or 62%, are potentially balanced; about 563,300, or 25%, have potentially overpaid tax of up to €400 million; and 287,000, or 13%, have potentially underpaid tax of up to €118 million.

The moral of the story is that everyone should make a return. Many people are entitled to refunds but they will have to go online and engage with the system, where the refunds are issued quickly, in my experience.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. Those figures are quite helpful. Phenomenal sums are available for many people. I understand that in previous years, several hundred thousand people have got back anywhere up to €1,000 each. Will the Minister indicate how many people the figures apply to for the two years in question? He gave the euro value, which is helpful, but he might also indicate how many people it applies to.

People are under severe pressure to pay ordinary, everyday bills and having that money back in their pocket would be invaluable to them. Are efforts being made to make people aware of these refunds? In fairness, people generally expect that their payslip should be correct and that Revenue will not take anything more than it should. They expect not to find themselves having overpaid tax. Are efforts being made to make people aware of this issue and to promote the claiming back of funds?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The figures are significant and it is important we all take every opportunity to highlight this and to remind people of their rights. As I outlined, for the remaining PAYE taxpayer units with a preliminary end-of-year statement for 2022 who are yet to file an income tax return, some 25%, or 563,300 people, have potentially overpaid tax of up to €400 million, although there are others who have underpaid tax, to an overall value of about €118 million. If we look back at the equivalent figures for 2021, for which we would expect most people at this stage to have claimed additional reliefs or submitted health expenses and so on, the estimate is that about 325,100 people, or about 20% of the remaining taxpayer cases, have potentially overpaid tax of up to €182 million. In total, therefore, between 2021 and 2022, Revenue believes taxpayers have overpaid more than €580 million, although, again, there are underpaid sums for the two years, at significantly less, totalling about €230 million.

The message to people is to check how they are fixed. It is simple to go online and make a claim.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for the details. Clearly, the message has to be put out loud and clear that it is quite possible to have overpaid and that people should check to see whether they can claim back on their funds. That is needed now more than ever, even if just to pay ordinary household bills. It is very possible to be eligible to claim back anywhere between €500 to €1,000, and maybe more, for many people.

I understand that tax can be claimed back for up to four years after it has been paid when returns are being made. What happens after those four years? Revenue sets aside funds each year for people to claim back and it knows those funds are their money. At the end of the four years, what becomes of the funds? Everybody knows they are not Revenue's funds or anybody else's other than the individual taxpayer's. Are they held in some kind of dormant account whereby people can at some point claim back their own funds or what has become of them? It should be accessible to people.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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On the question of awareness, we are all familiar with websites that are available and we will have seen advertisements of bodies that provide services in this regard. In addition, the Revenue Commissioners make a lot of information available regarding how people can make such claims. We have a role in this House and the Government certainly has a role to make people aware where they may well be in a position to claim back tax they have overpaid. That is an important point to make.

As for what happens after the four years, the Deputy is correct regarding the current legal position. For the four previous tax years, overpaid tax can be claimed back, but beyond that period the legal right is lost and those sums become part of the Central Fund. The legal right to claim lapses at the end of the four-year period.