Tax Equalisation on Expat Assignment

Hi, I completed an expat assignment for my previous company in late 2013. I worked in another country from October 2013 to June 2014, when my assignment ended I left the company and did not return to my "home" country. Because of this I am entitled to claim tax back under the Split Year Treatment through my 2013 tax return. Amount claimed back is over 6,000 euro. However I have been informed that as I was on an expat assignment for my company that under the tax equalisation agreement I am "not allowed to make and gains or losses from taxes", so I have to pay this money back to my company, which I no longer work for.

My argument here is that If I had returned to my home country after my assignment ended in June 2014, I would be considered resident in there in 2014. Therefore I would not have been entitled to claim SYT through your 2013 tax return and as such would not be due a tax refund from Revenue.

So should the company benefit from me making a decision to not return back to my home country?? Am I legally obliged to give them my tax refund?

I used to do some work in this area.

Simply, yes. Tax Equalisation by its very definition means that you should be no better or worse off whichever country you're living in. Usually its to the employees benefit - it still is in your case, you had certainty of overall tax-bill - but the greater benefits accrued to the company.

Usually you would have received free tax advice from an advisor paid by your company to complete your returns - what did they say?

They said that I owe it to the company, I guess I just find it difficult to comprehend as the only reason the tax is owed back to me is because of my decision to leave the company and not return home. Could really be doing with the money as I have been unemployed since I left in June... I know they certainly don't need it