Rental Income Tax - Maintaining records

In the revenue documentation, it clearly states that you must maintain records for up to 6 years.

What does this actually mean in relation to an audit?

Can you only be audited for up to the previous 6 years, or can you be audited as far back as Mr Taxman wants to go?

Thanks.

The taxman can go back further than 6 years, however you only have a legal obligation to keep 6 years of records, so there audit will obviously be limited in scope

Taxman can go back as far as the want if the suspect fraud.

However when you receive an audit notification it will tell you what exact period they will audit e.g. 2011 or 2010 etcc

Thanks for that.

So ....

If, for the sake of argument, one had been non-compliant regarding rental income tax in say 2006 (but fully compliant in all subsequent years), that outstanding tax from 2006 + penalties + interest would hang over him (and increase) forever, should the taxman ever see fit to audit him that far back ... and discover the non-compliance (fraud)?

And final theoretical question, to what degree (in monetary terms) is it more beneficial for an individual to voluntarily declare a 6-yr-old tax default, than for the taxman to investigate and find it himself?

Just wondering ......

Mick Wallace, is that you?

Is it documented on revenue.ie or anywhere how penalties are calculated?

Yes the Revenue audit code of practice

http://www.revenue.ie/en/practitioner/audit-code-of-practice/index.html

See section 4.5 of the pdf document of the full code