Non-resident but income paid from Ireland - can we claim back the tax?

G

GL01

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Myself and my husband are considering an offer of employment in the UAE.

He will be moving within his company, from Dublin office to a UAE office, and was advised that in order to retain his valuable defined benefit pension, he would be 'on assignment' and therefore salary would be paid from Dublin. Advice was that he would be taxed as per Irish standards on this income.

My question is: can he claim back this tax paid on return home / at the end of the tax year if he is non-resident as defined by revenue.

Given that UAE incomes are tax free this is a pretty serious consideration!

Thanks in advance for any help on this.
 
I'm by no means an expert, but here is my 2p worth regarding the 2 options :

  1. Your husband is "on assignment" in the UAE and is paid and taxed from Dublin at his current rates and retains his entitlements and accumulates years of service under the "defined benefits" pension scheme
  2. Your husband is employed in the UAE and is paid tax-free from there but loses his entitlements under the "defined benefits" pension scheme and the period of service for pension calculation on retirement. On his return from UAE he joins the pension scheme as a "defined contributions" member and accumulates years of service from the date of his return. His old pension contributions go to some kind of personal retirement bond on his departure to UAE.
Your proposal is a kind of a "have your cake and eat it" that I don't believe can work.

There may be more options but someone with greater knowledge than me will need to detail them. Have you sought professional advice?
 
Thanks for the reply. But I kind of see it as have a huge cake but not get to eat any of it!!

He would still be working for the same company - albeit a different branch - so we didn't expect him to lose his years of service accumulated thus far. It could be that the pension arrangements are totally different across their offices so maybe that was naive on my part (pensions, or any sort of benefit like that are an alien concept where I work!).

On the other hand: to work in a country that doesn't deduct any income tax, and pay full taxes to a country you're not resident in - doesn't seem like a good deal at all!

We will have to weigh the options up, I just wondered as a non-resident, could you claim back taxes you paid.

We will definitely seek professional financial advice on this one. Thanks again.
 
If your husband leave Ireland with the intention and in such circumstances that he will be non resident in the following year then split year relief applies to employment income and the amount earned post departure is not liable to Irish tax. If he is to stay on the Irish payroll then a PAYE exclusion order will need to be applied for and received to cease PAYE being deducted. If PAYE continues to be operated it can be reclaimed. It may be possible to keep making PRSI contributions through the special collection system to maintain PRSI record. Your husband may be able to continue contributing to a company pension scheme. It depends on the schme itself and he should check this with his employer.

www.phoenixtaxservices.ie
 
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