TRS - assuming partner rights at marriage?

  • Thread starter 2beornot2be
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2beornot2be

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I received overpayment bill of €2k for TRS but i would greatly appreciate some clarity from the forum. Married since 2002 and lived abroad from 2001-2007. My wife bought a property in Ireland in 2004 and cleared the mortgage by 2006 and did not claim TRS at the time. I moved back to Ireland in 2007 but rented in Dublin for the first year until i finally moved in to my wifes property in 2008. I then bought a property in 2009 where we both now live and my wife's property is rented. The revenue commissioner informs me my TRS is tied to my wifes property since 2004 and therefore ended the €10k ceiling in 2011 (after 7 years). In the letter they stated “Where a person owned a property and his/her new spouse moves into this property, TRS begins for the second party from that year.” which is fine but i didn't live in Ireland until 2007 and only in my wife's property in 2008.

Complicated i know and apologies but i am really worried/frustrated about the €2k bill and the loss of ~€1,500 TRS for 2011-2015 which i thought was ok?.
 

Your post is too unclear to say anything definitive.

Who lived abroad from 2001 - 2007, both of you, or just yourself?
Have you been assessed jointly or separately for tax since getting married?

In any case, the following may be relevant - it is unclear from your post whether this is the treatment that has been applied to you, but from my understanding of what you've posted it may be what should apply:

"Relief where one spouse or civil partner is a previous claimant

The benefit of the enhanced relief for the first 7 years of entitlement is not lost completely in the case of a married couple or civil partners where one partner was previously entitled to mortgage interest relief. Where this happens, the interest relief, other than the additional relief that would be allowable in the case of a first-time buyer, is treated as given equally to both spouses. The additional relief is then reduced by one half and given to the spouse or civil partner who had not previously obtained mortgage interest relief.

(3) ​
Example:
Assume mortgage interest totalling €11,000 is paid by a married couple or civil partners one of whom was previously entitled to mortgage interest relief.
(i) €6,000 relief (the maximum normally available to non-first time buyer married couples or civil partners) is divided equally between the spouses/civil partners i.e. €3,000 each.
(ii) The additional €5,000 that would be available if they were both first-time claimants is reduced by 50% to €2,500 and given to the spouse/civil partner who had not previously been given mortgage interest relief. In total, therefore, the relievable interest for this couple is €8,500 [€3,000+ €3,000+ €2,500]."

Taken from http://www.revenue.ie/en/practitioner/law/notes-for-guidance/tca/part08.pdf (page 20).
 
Thank you mandelbrot for your informative response, allow me to clarify some of your questions:
>>Who lived abroad from 2001 - 2007, both of you, or just yourself?
ANS: We both did but my wife was going to move home in 2004 so bought her property in Ireland. I was not intending to move home at that point.

>>Have you been assessed jointly or separately for tax since getting married?
ANS: We have always been & continue to be individually assessed

Your answer raises the question whether i qualify as a FTB in 2009 when i bought my house which grants the additional relief also?
 
This came up for discussion in the office recently.
In your case You and your wife were married in 2002.
In 2004 your wife purchased a property in her sole name.

My recently changed understanding of the FTB is that where either spouse owns/purchases a house the other spouse's FTB status starts from this point.

So in your case the fact that your wife bought a house started your FTB in 2004 and finishes in 2011.

In the case we looked at Bob owned a house prior to marrying Mary. Mary was deemed to start her FTB status on their marriage, although she was not on the deeds or mortgage of the house at that point in time.
 
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