Global Daily Tax News, Ireland Expands Guidance On New Payroll Reporting Requirements, (Nov 14, 2023)

The Irish Revneue has updated its guidance on the requirements on employments in relation to reportable benefits, under the enhanced reporting requirements.

New reporting requirements are being introduced from January 1, 2024, for certain employer-paid expenses.

These reportable benefits are the remote working daily allowance, the payment of travel and subsistence expenses, and the small benefit exemption, which enables employers to provide their employees with a voucher or other non-cash benefit, in up to two payments, during the year free of tax, up to EUR1,000.

Chapter 4, Part 42 of the TCA 1997 currently requires all employers to submit payroll details to Revenue in respect of each individual employee/director in their employment, on or before the date they make a payment of an emolument to the employee/director. Payroll details include pay, income tax, USC and PRSI deductions, as well as taxable benefits, pension contributions and redundancy payments.

Section 9 of Finance Act 2022, which provided for the insertion of the new section 897C TCA 1997 and amendments to Chapter 4 of Part 42, extends those reporting obligations to additional payments made by employers to their employees/ directors.

As certain conditions must be satisfied for an employer to make any payment or provide a benefit without operating income tax, USC, and PRSI the employer is already required to have sufficient controls in place, to capture and maintain this information as well as comprehensive supporting documentation and records, to support this tax treatment. The new Enhanced Reporting Requirement requires the information to be reported to Revenue when the reportable benefit or payment is provided to the employee/director.