Income Tax (Employments) Regulations 2018

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 345/2018
• Year: 2018

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 7th September, 2018.

The Revenue Commissioners, in exercise of the powers conferred on them under sections 985A and 986 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39 of 1997), hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations 2018.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on 1 January 2019 in respect of any payment of emoluments made on or after 1 January 2019.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires ―

“the Act” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39 of 1997);

“authorised officer” means an officer of the Revenue Commissioners authorised by them for the purposes of these Regulations;

“Collector-General” means the Collector-General appointed under section 851 of the Act;

“cumulative emoluments”, in relation to an employment of an employee and any date, means the total of–

(a) all payments of emoluments made to the employee from the beginning of the year up to and including that date after such deduction as is provided for in Regulation 31, and

(b) any emoluments notified to the employer in a revenue payroll notification;

“electronic means” has the same meaning as in section 917EA of the Act;

“emoluments” means emoluments to which Chapter 4 of Part 42 of the Act applies;

“employee” means any person in receipt of emoluments;

“employer” means any person paying emoluments;

“exclusion order” means a notification issued by an inspector under section 984(1) of the Act;

“general tax credit” has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Act;

“gross pay” means total remuneration which includes emoluments and notional emoluments but without reference to any deduction for pension contributions payable by the employee or any salary sacrifice deduction;

“higher rate of tax” means the rate of income tax known by that description and provided for in section 15 of the Act;

“income tax month” means a calendar month;

“inspector” means an inspector of taxes or other officer of the Revenue Commissioners;

“notional payment” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (2) of section 985A of the Act;

“personal public service number” has the same meaning as in section 262 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 (No. 26 of 2005);

“personal tax credit” has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Act;

“reliefs from income tax” means allowances, deductions and tax credits;

“revenue payroll notification” means, in relation to an employment, the latest notification that—

(a) is issued or made available by the Revenue Commissioners to an employer in respect of an employee, and

(b) contains information relating to the calculation and deduction of tax for the year in which emoluments are paid;

“standard rate cut-off point”, in relation to an employee, means the standard rate cut-off point advised on a revenue payroll notification;

“standard rate of tax” means the rate of income tax known by that description and provided for in section 15 of the Act;

“tax credits” in relation to an employee means the appropriate amount of personal tax credits and general tax credits to which the employee is entitled under the Act;

“total net tax deducted” means, in relation to the emoluments paid to an employee during any period, the aggregate of ―

(i) the total tax deducted from those emoluments, and

(ii) tax which was not so deducted but which was remitted by the employer for that period under section 985A(4) of the Act in relation to notional payments,

less any tax repaid to the employee;

“year” means a year of assessment.

(2) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires—

(a) references to a payment of emoluments shall include references to notional payments in respect of emoluments, and

(b) references to tax deducted or to be deducted, or to a requirement to deduct tax, from a payment of emoluments shall include references to—

(i) tax deducted or to be deducted, or to a requirement to deduct tax, from the payment, and

(ii) tax remitted or to be remitted, or a requirement to remit tax, under section 985A(4) of the Act,

in respect of notional payments, as the circumstances may require,

and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

(3) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Income Tax Acts has, except where the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations that it has in those Acts.

Service by post or electronic means

3. (1) Any notice, notification, certificate, requirement or revenue payroll notification which is authorised or required to be given, served, made, sent, issued or made available under these Regulations may be sent by post or done by electronic means.

(2) Anything to be done by or under these Regulations by an inspector may be done through such electronic systems as the Revenue Commissioners put in place for the time being for such purpose.

Determination of appropriate tax credits and standard rate cut-off point

4. (1) The amount of the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point appropriate to an employee for a year shall be determined by an inspector who for that purpose may have regard to any of the following matters, namely—

(a) the reliefs from income tax to which the employee is entitled for the year so far as the employee’s title to those reliefs has been established at the time of the determination;

(b) the emoluments of the employee for the year;

(c) where the employee has income (other than emoluments to which these Regulations apply), adjustment of the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point as necessary to collect the tax due on such income;

(d) where the employee is entitled to reliefs from income tax at the higher rate of tax, adjustment of the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point as necessary to give effect to the relief;

(e) any tax overpaid for any previous year which has not been repaid to the employee;

(f) any tax remaining unpaid for any previous year which has not otherwise been recovered from the employee;

(g) such other adjustments as may be necessary to provide that, as far as possible, the tax in respect of the employee’s emoluments for the year to which the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point relate is deducted from the emoluments paid during the year.

(2) When an employee requests an inspector to disregard any particular relief or income referred to in subparagraph (a) or (c) of paragraph (1), the inspector shall disregard it for the purposes of that paragraph.

(3) An inspector may disregard part or all of any expenses in respect of which an employee may be entitled to relief from income tax if it is impracticable to take account of such expenses in determining the appropriate amount of tax credits and standard rate cut-off point and, where he or she does so, shall direct the employer to disregard an equivalent amount of the employee’s emoluments in calculating the tax to be deducted or repaid when any payment of emoluments is made to the employee.

(4) Before a determination has been made under paragraph (1), an employee may request that a portion of the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point be allocated to different employments in such manner as the employee directs and where such request is made, any determination shall take that request into account without prejudice to the other matters to be taken into account under this Regulation.

Objection and appeal against amount of tax credits and standard rate cut-off point

5. (1) After an inspector has determined the amount of the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point appropriate to an employee for a year in accordance with Regulation 4, he or she shall send, make available or cause to make available notice of his or her determination to the employee.

(2) If an employee is aggrieved by an inspector’s determination under Regulation 4, he or she may give notice in writing of his or her objection to the inspector, stating the grounds of the objection, within 21 days of the date on which the determination is notified to him or her and no later than 31 December in the year to which the determination relates.

(3) On receipt of a notice of objection, an inspector may amend the determination by agreement with the employee, and in default of such agreement with the employee, the employee may appeal the inspector’s determination to the Appeal Commissioners within the period of 30 days from the date of notice of objection.

(4) The Appeal Commissioners on appeal shall determine either or both the amount of tax credits and standard rate cut-off point having regard to the matters specified in paragraph (1) of Regulation 4 and their determination shall be final.

(5) Where the amount of the tax credits or standard rate cut-off point is amended under this Regulation, either by an inspector or by the Appeal Commissioners, the inspector shall send, make available or cause to be made available to the employee a notice of the new determination.

(6) A revenue payroll notification appropriate to the amount of the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point of an employee as determined by an inspector may be issued or made available to the employer, notwithstanding that the inspector’s determination is the subject of an objection or appeal.

Revenue payroll notification to employer

6. (1) After the determination of the amount of the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point for a year in accordance with Regulation 4 or 5, an inspector shall send or make available to the employer of an employee a revenue payroll notification specifying—

(a) the amount of the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point appropriate to the employee, and

(b) where appropriate, details of total emoluments and...