Rent Tax Credit 5 April 2023

RMcH states: The new Rent Tax Credit is available for the tax years 2022 to 2025. The Rent Tax Credit reduces the amount of Income Tax that you are due to pay for a tax year. To benefit from the Rent Tax Credit, you must have an Income Tax liability to offset against it.

The amount of Rent Tax Credit you can claim will be calculated for you when you submit your claim. This amount will depend on the amount of:

• rent you pay
• and
• Income Tax you pay.

Rent means the amount you pay for use of the property. It does not include any amount you pay for extra services such as utilities, board or laundry. You should exclude any amount you pay for these services when calculating the rent you pay.

The maximum value of the Rent Tax Credit is €1,000 per year for jointly assessed married couples or civil partners. The maximum value is €500 in all other cases, including single persons. This is the case no matter how many properties you pay rent for during the year.

Subject to a number of conditions, the Rent Tax Credit may be available where you pay rent for:

• your principal private residence
• another property you use to facilitate your attendance at work or on an approved course
• or
• a property used by your child to facilitate their attendance on an approved course.

The conditions which apply relate to the:

• location and use of the rental property
• type of tenancy
• relationship between you, or your child, and the landlord
• and
• age of your child and the type of course they are attending, where relevant.

• Qualifying conditions for all claimants

  There are several conditions which must be met for all claims of the Rent Tax Credit.

  Formal claim

  You must make a formal claim to receive the credit for 2022 by completing your Income Tax return for 2022. If you are claiming the credit for 2023, you will be able to make your claim in real time when the online facility becomes available on myAccount in the coming weeks.

  Your claim must relate to rental payments which were due and were paid during the relevant tax year. You should provide as much information about your rental arrangement as possible when making a claim. You should also retain all records related to your rental arrangement so that you can provide them to Revenue if requested.

  Tenancy

  The payment must have been made under a tenancy. A tenancy must have been entered into with the consent of the landlord.

  Certain tenancies must be registered with the Residential Tenancy Board (RTB). This includes Student Specific Accommodation (SSA) provided by universities, colleges or private sector organisations. If this registration is not complete, the claimant will not be eligible for the Rent Tax Credit. The RTB website sets out full details of the various tenancy types and conditions required for registration.

  In certain cases, the Rent Tax Credit applies for tenancies which do not need to be registered with the RTB. This includes ‘rent-a-room’ or ‘digs’ type arrangements.

  However, the Rent Tax Credit will not be available for ‘rent-a-room’ or ‘digs’ type arrangements if:

  • you and the landlord are related
  • or
  • you are paying rent on behalf of your child.
  • Example

    John resides in student digs and makes a rental payment of 500 euro per month during the 2023 tax year. As part of his rental agreement, John receives several meals a week.

    For the Rent Tax Credit, John will have to apportion his monthly rental payment between:

    - the amount attributed to his occupation and use of the rooms available to him

       and

    - the amount attributed to the food and board provided to him.

  Property

  The property concerned must be a residential property located in the State. A residential property for this purpose may be an entire property or selected rooms within a property.

  Supported tenant

  You cannot claim the Rent Tax Credit if you are a ‘supported tenant’. This means you cannot be in receipt of state housing support such as:

  • the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)
  • Rent Supplement
  • or
  • Rental Accommodation Schemes (RAS). 

  You cannot claim the Rent Tax Credit even if you are required to make a ‘top-up’ payment in excess of a payment received from a state support scheme. 

  Members of the Oireachtas who receive an allowance under section 836 TCA 1997 cannot claim as they are deemed to be a ‘supported tenant’. However, they can claim where they make a payment in respect of their own principal private residence.

  Landlord

  You cannot claim the Rent Tax Credit if your landlord is a Housing Association or Approved Housing Body.

  Further conditions

  As well as the conditions above, some further conditions apply to your claim for Rent Tax Credit, depending on the category of your rental arrangement. Please see the relevant page that follows for information on these further conditions.

Additinal information https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/rent-credit/index.aspx

Courtsey https://www.revenue.ie/en/Home.aspx