Form 11 — Panel A

PERSONAL DETAILS – PAGES 3 & 4

THIS is one of the most important panels on Form 11 as it is where you enter your personal details, such as civil status and residence status.

In this section, it has become mandatory for taxpayers to include the PPSN, first name, date of birth, date of marriage and the gender of their spouse/civil partner if they are filing a joint tax return.

You should enter your civil status for 2017 at line 2. If your status has changed during the year you must report this at line 3.

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I got married/entered a civil partnership in 2017; do we get any extra tax relief ? Maybe. Individuals who were married or became civil partners during 2017 may be entitled to a year of marriage relief. It is important to note though that in the year of marriage or civil partnership you are still taxed as single people and must file separate returns. The good news is that if you paid more tax individually in that year than you would have if you were taxed as a couple you can claim a refund of the difference on the Form 11. If you are due a refund, it will only be from the date of marriage or registration of civil partnership. The amount that you will receive will be paid in proportion to the number of months that you were married or in a civil partnership. Refunds are normally only due where a couple are taxed at different rates and one spouse/partner could benefit from the unused standard rate cut-off point or for some of the unused tax credits of the other spouse.

If you are claiming a year of marriage relief, you will also have to complete line 532 on page 27 and your spouse or civil partner will also have to complete the same section on their own Form 11.

MARRIED COUPLES & CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS, PAGE 3, LINE 4

What’s my basis of assessment if I’m married/in a civil partnership? For the years following your marriage, there are three options for taxation. The three options are listed at line 4: ÷ Joint assessment; ÷ Separate assessment; ÷ Single treatment.

If you are a married couple or in a civil partnership who are filing jointly, the assessable spouse is obliged to submit only one Form 11 showing the income of both spouses/civil partners unless you have already made a formal election to the Revenue Commissioners to have your tax affairs dealt with under “Separate Assessment” or “Single Treatment”.

The terminology here can be confusing so let’s explain the differences between the two.

Under Separate Assessment and Single Treatment, the spouse/civil partner must file separate tax returns.

Under Single Treatment, each spouse/civil partner is treated as a single person with no right to transfer tax credits or standard rate cut-off points to the other spouse/civil partner. However, under Separate Assessment, most tax credits that are unused, and the standard rate cut-off point up to €42,800 in 2017, can be transferred to the other spouse/civil partner but only at the end of the tax year when the Form 11 is filed. The increase in the standard rate tax band of up to €24,800 in 2017 is not transferable between spouses/civil partners.

RESIDENCE STATUS, LINES 14 TO 18

This section of the Form 11 may be of interest to readers who have moved here from abroad.

In general, individuals who are resident in Ireland, have lived all their lives in Ireland and are from Ireland are taxable on their worldwide income. In previous Form 11s this position was assumed to be the case unless you ticked the boxes to the contrary.

The format of the questions on residence and domicile has changed in the 2017 Form 11, with each individual now required to confirm that they are either: ÷ Resident or non-resident; ÷ Ordinarily resident or non-ordinarily resident; ÷ Domiciled in Ireland or not domiciled in Ireland.

An individual’s residence and domicile status determines the extent of his/her liability

to Irish tax and therefore you should be very careful when completing this section.

You will be regarded as resident in Ireland in the year 2017 if you spent: ÷ 183 days or more in Ireland, for any purpose, in 2017, or ÷ 280 days or more in Ireland, combining the number of days spent in Ireland in 2017 and 2016. However, this test will not apply to make you resident if you spent 30 days or less in Ireland in 2017.

CAUTION

A day is one on which you are present in Ireland at any time during the day. So, for example, an early morning flight to London must still be counted as a day here.

Aggregation relief is dealt with in line 18 on the 2017 Form 11. This relief may be available in cases where all the income of a taxpayer and their spouse/civil partner is not chargeable to tax in Ireland because one or both parties are non-resident and therefore separate assessment applies. However, if you wish to claim this relief a submission should be made to the Revenue Commissioners providing both the tax payer and spouse’s total income for the year.

THE REMITTANCE BASIS OF TAXATION, LINE 14

I came to live in Ireland from abroad a few years ago; do I have any special tax status in Ireland if I have non-Irish income?

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If you are not originally from Ireland (ie you are not domiciled* in Ireland) but you are resident here you should ensure that you tick the appropriate boxes at line 14 as you are entitled to a potentially favourable tax regime called the remittance basis of taxation. * Domicile is a complex legal concept. It may, broadly, be interpreted as meaning permanent home in a particular country with the intention of residing permanently in that country. An individual acquires a domicile of origin on their birth. Whilst each individual has a domicile, that domicile may or may not be the country in which he or she is tax resident.

This means that certain types of foreignsourced income are liable to income tax here only if remitted to Ireland. For example, let’s say you received dividends from a non-Irish company in 2017, then the dividends would only be taxable in Ireland to the extent they were remitted (eg a bank wire transfer) to Ireland in 2017.

However, it is important to note that this basis of taxation does not apply to foreign employment income to the extent it is attributable to your work duties performed in Ireland. Such income is taxable in full under the PAYE system, whether or not remitted.