Facing unemployment is a tough prospect. However if you have recently become unemployed after a period of employment, you’ll be happy to know that you may be eligible to claim tax back. A tax rebate can go a long way to helping yourself financially while you try to secure a new role.
The size of the tax rebate that you could receive will depend on the amount of time you were employed, how much tax you paid during that period and the amount of tax credits you have utilised. You can claim tax back for the last 4 tax years.
How it works
All PAYE workers tax liability is spread out evenly over the period of a year. To make sure this is achieved, your tax liability is normally calculated on a cumulative basis. Tax credits and standard cut–off points that are not used up in that period, get carried forward to the next pay period, within that tax year.
Your employer calculates your tax liability that is due from 1st January to the date on which your most recent payment was made. This means that if you become unemployed, you will have unused tax credits available for which you may be able to claim tax back.
Things to consider
You should wait a minimum of 4 weeks before you make a claim to get your tax back. You can do this every four weeks until all tax has been repaid or the tax credits are used. You cannot carry unused tax credits forward from one tax year to the next.
If you are in receipt of social welfare payments such as Jobseeker’s Benefit or Illness Benefit, You must wait approximately 8 weeks to apply for your tax back if you are in receipt of these payments. It is important to note that these payments constitute as taxable income, with the exception of the first €13 per week of Jobseeker’s Benefit income.
When claiming tax back, the taxable proportion of your Jobseeker’s Benefit is considered alongside your past earnings to determine if you are entitled to tax back. If the weekly amount of your Jobseeker’s Payment exceeds your weekly tax credit, unfortunately you will not be entitled to a refund.
If you were paying emergency tax in your previous job, you are entitled to apply immediately upon becoming unemployed and tax back will be issued to you in due course.
Have you become recently unemployed?
Let us help you put some extra cash in your back pocket! With Irish Tax Rebates, we make applying for tax back a simple, hassle free process. We leave no stone unturned to ensure that we claim all tax back due to you.
If you are not due any tax back, there is no fee! Apply for your tax back online in minutes:
New Customers: Apply here.
Existing Customers: Apply For Additional Rebate
