Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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59. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of persons who are yet to make an application for 2024 under the rent tax credit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5069/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Rent Tax Credit (RTC), as provided for in section 473B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 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 informed by Revenue that 313,980 taxpayer units claimed the RTC in respect of 2022, the latest year for which fully analysed data across both PAYE and self-assessed taxpayer units are available. Some 273,160 taxpayer units actually benefitted from the relief in 2022. The extent to which a claimant benefits from a tax credit, through a reduced tax liability and/or receipt of a refund for overpayment of a tax liability, is determined by their gross tax liability and use of other tax credits and reliefs. These numbers include both PAYE and self-assessed taxpayer units.

RTC statistics in relation to 2023, 2024 and 2025 are only available in relation to PAYE taxpayers. The claims made by PAYE taxpayers only for the RTC in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, was 294,800, 234,349 and 26,444 retrospectively. Full data in respect of 2023 will be available later this year when the self-assessed tax returns for that year, filed in late 2024, have been analysed.

The Deputy will wish to note that the term “taxpayer” refers to either an individual who is singly assessed or a couple in a marriage or civil partnership who have elected for joint assessment.

Most claims for credits by PAYE taxpayers take place after the year-end, and it is expected that the bulk of claims for 2025 will not be made until 2026.

I am informed by Revenue that it has no data from which to prepare an estimate of the number of taxpayers who might be eligible to claim the RTC as information on rental status is not provided by taxpayers other than in the context of a claim for the RTC.

I am further advised by Revenue that the data are provisional and subject to change.