Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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232. To ask the Minister for Finance the total number of applications for the rent tax credit for 2022 and to date in 2023; if he will provide a breakdown of the claims, by county; the average amount claimed, per county; and when the first credits will be paid. [8756/23]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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235. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of renters who have claimed the rent credit to date. [8849/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 232 and 235 together.

The Rent Tax Credit, as provided for in section 473B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA 1997), was introduced by Finance Act 2022 and which may be claimed in respect of qualifying rent paid in 2022 and subsequent years to end-2025.

I am advised by Revenue that as of Friday, 17 February 2023, 154,273 claims had been made in respect of the 2022 year of assessment. These claims were made by PAYE taxpayers by submitting an Income Tax return for 2022 through Revenue’s online facility, myAccount. I amfurther advised that the resulting refunds have been issuing since the 3 January 2023.

For claims relating to the 2023 year of assessment, those in receipt of income which is subject to tax under the PAYE system will be able to claim the rent tax credit due to them in-year, from mid-February 2023 onwards, or by way of an end of year claim included in his or her Income Tax return for 2023.

The maximum value of the Rent Tax Credit is €500 per year, or €1,000 per year in the case of jointly assessed married couples or civil partners. The amount of Rent Tax Credit that can be claimed will depend on the amount of rent and income tax a taxpayer pays.

The following table provides further information on the number of claims and the average value of the Rent Tax credit, broken down by county:

I am advised by Revenue that the most recent breakdown of Rent Tax Credit claims on the Revenue website was published on 17 February 2023. It is available at:

www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/number-of-taxpayers-and-returns/peoys.aspx