Moving abroad and house renting income tax

You want Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 s. 604(5)(b):

... any period of absence throughout which the individual worked in an employment or office all the duties of which were performed outside the State ... shall be treated as if in that period of absence the dwelling house ... was occupied by the individual as his or her only or main residence ...
So, if your current employer seconds you to work abroad, no problem.

But, it seems to me, if you quit your Irish job, take up a new job in Umbrellastan and go to Umbrellastan to do that job, you're still OK (provided the other conditions are satisfied, of course; you have to actually reside in the Irish property both before and after your stint in Umbrellastan.

But. . .

You have to stay abroad only while actually doing the Umbrellastani job. If you quit your Irish job, go to Umbrellastan and hawk yourself about at hiring fairs until you find Umbrellastani employment, you haven't been working in Umbrellastan throughout the period of absence. Similarly if, at the end of your stint you take three months out to tour the soukhs and hashish-houses of Morocco on the way home, you haven't been working in your foreign employment throughout the period of absence.

And here's the thing: s. 604(5)(b) doesn't give you relief for that part of a period of absence during which you were working abroad; it only gives you relief if you were working abroad throughout the period of absence.

I don't know what Revenue practice here is. Presumably they'll allow you some leeway at each end of the Umbrellastani gig to pack your bags, make the journey, etc.; perhaps to find a job on arrival, if you haven't sorted one before travelling; perhaps even a little holiday on the way out or home. But I don't know how much leeway. And I think you'd want to look into that (which is to say, pay an experienced tax adviser to look into that) before you actually commit to anything. Because it seem to me that if you fall on the wrong side of whatever line the Revenue draw, the consequence would be loss of the relief for the entire period of absence.

I could be wrong. Revenue may as a matter of practice agree to treat your period of absense as two periods, one for working and one for doing the three-months-in-Morocco thing, and to grant you relief for the first period. But if you want to know for sure, you're going to have to pay somebody more competent than me to tell you.
 
Could this be sufficient to avail of the Rent-a Room-relief?

Absences considered as living in the property

You will be considered to have lived in your property where:

  • you could not live in the property because your employer required you to live elsewhere (up to a four-year maximum.)
  • you had a job, all the duties of which were performed outside the Republic of Ireland
 
No. For the rent-a-room income tax exemption you must actually occupy the home as your sole residence. Having it deemed to be your principal residence for CGT purposes is not enough.
 
I had a look around a few sites etc today and I have to admit that the gist of what I've read is that yes you can avail of PPR relief for the period that you work abroad even in a "non-secondment" type scenario. I have to say that this is contrary to any tax advice I've seen previously including at CPD courses etc (and my understanding of Revenue's interpretation) so now I'm not as sure as I was before!
 
A lot of MNCs offer a tax advice session with an external advisor as part of relocation/secondment activities. OP if this is the case you can get a confirmation, albeit you may need to know the outcome to be able to make your decision to relocate.
 
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