DIRT question: non-resident but no fixed address

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blorg

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I haven't been resident in Ireland or working since mid-2010, but I am travelling around the world and as such have no fixed address. My only income is interest from my savings. Is there any way I can avoid or re-claim the DIRT? From what I gather from talking to the bank, unless I can provide a fixed address outside the state, I have to pay it. I currently have my bank accounts with my parent's address on them.

Any advice appreciated.
 
For tax purposes everybody has a domiciliation.

In order to answer your question, we need to figure out your domiciliation. Based on what you have said, it would appear that your domiciliation is Ireland. However, to be sure ...

Who pays your salary? Is it an Irish company?

How many days were you resident in the state in the 2011 tax year?

How many days were you resident in the state in the 2010 tax year?
 
Hi Ciaran, thanks for the reply.

I have no salary and no employment. I am living off savings. My only income is interest on savings.

I was resident in the state and employed for the first five months in 2010, until the end of May. Certainly less than 183 days employed but I continued to be paid for back holidays after I left so possibly over 183 days employed technically. I then spent some time in Europe over the summer, came back for around a month and then left for good. Not sure if the total would be above or below but if previous 2010 holidays count I would not have been in the state more than 183 days in 2010.

I have not been in Ireland at all since August 2010, and don't expect to return before mid-2014, if ever. So zero days in 2011 tax year. If it is simpler, lets just start from 2011, or even now.

From what I gather this would all be quite straightforward if I had an address outside the state; but I don't. I spend up to three months in each country and then continue on.
 
From information given you would be regarded as "Domiciled" but not resident in Ireland. I.e. Your Irish income would be subject to tax in this country. You are not resident in a country with a double taxation agreement with Ireland, so an exemption from DIRT would not apply to you.
 
Thanks for that Brendan. From citizensinformation.ie I get:

If you are not resident in Ireland you may get your Irish deposit interest without the deduction of DIRT. A non-resident person does not have to be a resident of a country that has a double taxation agreement with Ireland in order to apply for a DIRT exemption. You should contact your financial institution to find out if you can be exempt from paying DIRT. You will have to complete a Non-Residence Declaration. You must notify them if you become resident again.
Click to expand...

No mention of domicile. Does this suggest that the rules are not set by the Revenue but up to the financial institution? (Seems unlikely.) The one I spoke to requires an address outside Ireland, but moving my money would be a possibility. Alternatively I could just cook up a friend's address in one of the countries I pass through although it would be a pain in the neck if I had to keep changing this. The one institution I spoke to also required utility bills or bank statements as proof with transactions outside the state; I have only my Irish bank statement but it shows only foreign ATM withdrawals since August 2010.
 
IMO you will have difficulties in fulfilling the requirements for exemption. Revenue are the final arbiters for DIRT exemption.
 
I think the tax codes/treaties assume if you are not a resident of one country that you must be a resident of another, no one becomes stateless when taking a long trip.

I think unless you can prove that you have established a bona fide residence in another country and have spent some required length of time there, the Irish govt would consider you to be habitually a resident of ireland and not exempt from dirt obligations on your irish interest.
 
blorg said:
Hi Ciaran, thanks for the reply.

I have no salary and no employment. I am living off savings. My only income is interest on savings.

I was resident in the state and employed for the first five months in 2010, until the end of May. Certainly less than 183 days employed but I continued to be paid for back holidays after I left so possibly over 183 days employed technically. I then spent some time in Europe over the summer, came back for around a month and then left for good. Not sure if the total would be above or below but if previous 2010 holidays count I would not have been in the state more than 183 days in 2010.

I have not been in Ireland at all since August 2010, and don't expect to return before mid-2014, if ever. So zero days in 2011 tax year. If it is simpler, lets just start from 2011, or even now.

From what I gather this would all be quite straightforward if I had an address outside the state; but I don't. I spend up to three months in each country and then continue on.
Click to expand...

The number of days employed does not matter, it is the number of days resident in the country.

2010 days matter for the 2011 tax year for country of residence. There are lots of different rules for country of residence, one of them is the number of days in the country over a 2 year period as well as a 1 year period. Hence, you can't ignore 2010 when talking about 2011.

It is straight forward to ask a bank to change the DIRT rate, they will look for little evidence. It is not straight forward to comply with Revenue rules which is your obligations and not the banks obligations.
 
Lsquared said:
I think the tax codes/treaties assume if you are not a resident of one country that you must be a resident of another, no one becomes stateless when taking a long trip.

I think unless you can prove that you have established a bona fide residence in another country and have spent some required length of time there, the Irish govt would consider you to be habitually a resident of ireland and not exempt from dirt obligations on your irish interest.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
OK, thanks for the replies. At the end of the day I left Ireland for good August 2010 and won't be back until at least 2014 (maybe not ever) so it rankles somewhat that I would be considered resident! Statelessness is a function of citizenship I thought rather than residence. I may give the Revenue themselves a ring, they have always been helpful in the past.
 
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