The new Rent Tax Credit is available for the tax years 2022 to 2025 inclusive. The Rent Tax Credit reduces the amount of Income Tax that you are due to pay for a tax year.
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
- Income Tax 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.
There are several conditions which must be met for all claims of the Rent Tax Credit.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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 Revenue’s website for details.