filing tax returns,step by step?

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superfan

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Can anyone point me towards a link to an idiot's guide to filing property tax returns?
Is it very difficult to do,would someone be advised to get an accountant or could they do it themselves?
Do you have to provide receipts/bank statements etc to revenue or do they only request them in certain circumstances?
Any advice would be appreciated.
 
I've always done it myself.
I don't know if I've missed some major tax saving oppourtunity but its certainly cheaper upfront.

Start with the form itself.
Use that to design your filing system and put your paperwork in the files according to the fields on the form.

Finding the paperwork is the most time consuming part of filling the form.

The revenue.ie website is a very good resource for answering any of your questions and generally its in plain english. If you can't understand something ring the revenue and they will clarify.

My hubby did it this year and was moaning about the leanring curve etc, that it would be easier for me to do it again...but he managed fine.

The only bit that you might miss is if you have any shares/dividends the reporting times for them are bi-annual so you need to be careful not to miss those dates.

If you have any rental income the capital versus ongoing expenses can take a little figuring out.

You don't need to submit receipts but you need to keep them for ?7 years.
I did get a letter from revenue last year looking for clarification on 3 points. They requested i submit the paperwork. I went in and presented the paperwork (there was too much to post) and they were happy with everything. I asked them should I consider using an accountant and they said i had done fine!! So go for it. The key success factor is a good filing system.
 
Thanks a lot mommah,some good advice there..
is there a form specifically for rental income?
 
No, it's on the standard form. One tip - if you do it once and get it right, make sure you keep a copy so that you can refer to it in future years. Alternatively, you can ring Revenue and request a copy of your last year's return - they are very helpful on this score.
 
Very good advice from previous posters. Btw I do the form 11E as it's just for rental income and some other small bits and pieces. It's a little less cumbersome than the full Form 11.

Firstly take the form and read through carefully. With highlight pen tip the questions that are applicable to you and keep that as template for next and following years.

Set up spread sheet for rental income and expenses. You only need to do this once, the headings will remain pretty much the same and only the figures will change in the following years. I'm assuming you are doing the paper version but the same principles apply for ROS
 
Thanks lads,I know I have plenty of time on my side but I want to start preparing now for next October.
 
A couple of other tips....

- I use an excel file for tracking my rental income and outgoings - I have a seperate worksheet for each year. I put a comment in for figures that may not be clear... you might end up in four or five years trying to recall information on how a certain figure came about, the comments should help you.
- Set up a seperate bank account for your rental income and keep the statements. It'll help you when you need to find information at the time of your tax returns.
- Keep copies of all receipts for up to seven years. Photocopy each one, just in case anything happens to the origonal, and also keep electronic copies if you can.
 
If you start renting out a property in February 2012 do you file the tax return on the rental income in Oct 2012 or 2013? Thanks
 
@ Society - if you are a PAYE worker you file your tax return on the rental income in Oct. 2013. I am not sure for non-PAYE.
 
Filing tax return

Thanks Macstuff. I am a PAYE worker so it's Oct 2013. Is the tax period I will be submitting then (from date of rental i. e March 2012 - March 2013)?
Thanks
 
Society said:
Thanks Macstuff. I am a PAYE worker so it's Oct 2013. Is the tax period I will be submitting then (from date of rental i. e March 2012 - March 2013)?
Thanks
Click to expand...

As far as I know you will be paying tax on rental income from March 2012 to October 2012 and from November 2012 to October 2013 but I am new to all this so am open to correction..
 
superfan said:
As far as I know you will be paying tax on rental income from March 2012 to October 2012 and from November 2012 to October 2013 but I am new to all this so am open to correction..
Click to expand...

Tax is on calendar year so in Oct 2013 you will submit & pay based on year ended Dec 2012 - If income from rent is below the thresholds and you get away with submitting a form 12 there should be no prelim tax due in oct 2013 for calendar year 2013 -
 
WindUp said:
Tax is on calendar year so in Oct 2013 you will submit & pay based on year ended Dec 2012 - If income from rent is below the thresholds and you get away with submitting a form 12 there should be no prelim tax due in oct 2013 for calendar year 2013 -
Click to expand...

Thanks for clearing that up windup.
What are the thresholds that you mentioned?
 
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