Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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217. To ask the Minister for Finance the total number of claims for the private rental tax credit in 2023; the average amount of the claims for 2023; the total cost of the claims in 2023; and a breakdown, by local authority area, of the number of claims and the average amount claimed. [2716/24]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 214 and 217 together.

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

I am advised by Revenue that the Rent Tax Credit statistics currently available refer only to claims by PAYE taxpayers. Data on claims by self-assessed taxpayers is not yet available. Statistics covering all taxpayers will be available in Q2 2024.

Claims in respect of the 2022 and 2023 years of assessment can be made by PAYE taxpayers by submitting an Income Tax return for that year. For claims relating to 2023, PAYE taxpayers had the option of claiming the Rent Tax Credit due to them as rent is incurred through Revenue’s Online Service or at the end of the year through their Income Tax return.

I am further advised that the total cost of the Rent Tax Credit for the 2023 year of assessment cannot be determined until after all relevant returns are filed. Returns for the 2023 year of assessment for self-assessed taxpayers are not due until later this year. However, the total amount of Rent Tax Credit claimed to date by PAYE taxpayers in respect of the 2023 year of assessment amounts to €83.33 million.

Rent Tax Credit claims are made are on a ‘taxpayer unit’ basis. A taxpayer unit is either an individual with any personal status who is singly assessed or a couple in a marriage or civil partnership who have elected for joint assessment.

During the Budget 2023 process, it was estimated that approximately 400,000 individual persons are eligible to claim the Rent Tax Credit for 2022. The same figure was estimated for 2023.

I am advised that as of 18 January 2024, 419,561 Rent Tax Credit claims have been made by 300,787 taxpayer units consisting of:

(i) 153,714 taxpayer units that made claims for 2022 only,

(ii) 87,446 taxpayer units that made claims for both 2022 and 2023,

(iii) 4,795 taxpayer units that made claims for both 2022 and 2024,

(iv) 36,005 taxpayer units that made claims for 2023 only,

(v) 4,217 taxpayer units that made claims for both 2023 and 2024,

(vi) 3,452 taxpayer units that made claims for 2024 only,

(vii) 11,158 taxpayer units that made claims for 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Data for claims relating to PAYE taxpayers for the 2023 year of assessment is set out by county in the tables below: