Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 513: To ask the Minister for Finance the reason, in some cases, mortgage interest relief is no longer being applied at source; if his policy has changed in this regard; if he will outline the precise arrangement now operating between the banks and the Revenue Commissioners; and the implications in terms of additional administrative burden on the Revenue Commissioners in terms of tracking mortgage interest changes or early partial redemption payments by the mortgage holder in order that the correct amount of interest relief is applied. [33714/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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There has been no policy change regarding the granting of tax relief at source (TRS) in respect of interest paid on qualifying home loans. Where an individual has an entitlement to tax relief on interest paid on a qualifying home loan, such relief is generally granted via the TRS system.

Following the Budget 2010 changes, only interest payable on qualifying home loans taken out on or after 1 January 2004 qualifies for tax relief. Interest payable on loans taken out prior to that date no longer qualifies for tax relief. On a practical level, a mortgage account holder notifies Revenue of the details of his or her qualifying home loan. Revenue determines — having consulted with the relevant lending institution as necessary — the individual's entitlement to tax relief on the interest payable on such loan. Where matters are in order, Revenue informs the lending institution of the relief to be granted at source in the particular instance.

Where the information provided by the individual account holder is accurate and complete, the relief at source is normally effected within a period of eight weeks. The precise timing in any instance depends on the necessary verification work that Revenue must complete, and the timing of any electronic file exchange between Revenue and the relevant financial institution. Early partial redemption payments are captured in this exchange and the tax relief at source is adjusted in line with the recalculated interest.

The basic structure of the TRS system as set out above has remained largely unchanged since its introduction. I am informed by Revenue that recent Budget changes as regards the tax relief on interest payable on qualifying home loans have given rise to a need to refine the administrative systems operating in conjunction with the lending institutions. This is a normal part of the ongoing work that Revenue undertakes with the lenders to minimise the effort on the part of the individual loan account holders to obtain the correct level of tax relief relevant to their particular circumstances.