I’ve seen cases over the years where letters from Revenue are ignored for a period of time by an individual or perhaps forwarded to an agent but not acted upon.

If unsure what to do with any Revenue correspondence, always forward it to your agent and ask what action is required. Then agree between you who will respond to any requests made so you know action will be taken in a timely manner.

According to Revenue statistics over 4,300 refunds for 2015 (amounting to €6.4m) and 1,800 refunds for 2016 (amounting to €3.4m) were ‘cancelled’ (i.e. withheld by revenue and refunds not processed)! They are really shocking numbers. Revenue have contacted these individuals and requested bank account details to be updated in order to process these refunds. They have also issued reminder notices.

If you have not received your refund for 2015 or 2016, you will need to reactivate this claim with Revenue by entering your bank account details through ROS and updating the relevant tax district.

Revenue eBrief sets out how to update bank details via ROS, or contact your agent if applicable.

Be sure to claim your refund if one was due. Act on any correspondence from Revenue in a timely manner to avoid the hassle factor. Once your bank details are in the system with Revenue, usually refunds process quickly in relation to Income Tax.

As always, please be cautious with giving bank details to any party. Revenue NEVER send emails looking for details (you may have seen these spam emails seeking your bank details). They also never text or telephone looking for personal details.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me.

Wendy@williamsmerrigan.ie

Wendy Merrigan, FCA (Chartered Accountant, Williams Merrigan)