Wexford Rentals & Property Management has read today that Revenue’s tax take last year was swelled by more than €22m as the taxman continued to reap the rewards of targeting landlords.
Wexford Rentals & Property Management understands that this is due to the multi-million euro haul came as more than 540 separate audits were carried out over the last year. As Revenue’s ability to target individuals increases with the advent of new technology and a growing range of information sources, focussing on landlords has proven particularly fruitful. The average settlement with landlords in 2014 was €41,000.
Tax consultant Barry Flanagan of Taxback.com warned however, that many of those affected by the audits are casual or incidental landlords who may not be aware of their obligations. “Many of these would not be professional landlords or investors, but are those incidentally renting out a property and so can be uninformed as to what to do when it comes to self– assessment,” Mr Flanagan said. “It’s clear that Revenue are targeting landlords — the huge yield from over 500 audits of landlords in 2014, with an average settlement of almost €41,000 per audit, means Revenue are extremely likely to continue to focus on this area. Recent issues with Airbnb have also highlighted this sector — it is currently a hot topic with Revenue.”
The figures were released as part of Revenue’s Annual Report yesterday. They also show that the strong LPT compliance rate was maintained last year, with 96% of residents coughing up the much maligned charge. Revenue took in more than €41bn last year, as the State’s tax take increased for the fourth successive year.
Peter O’Dwyer, Reporter
