style="text-align: left;">For the next two weeks our consumer expert Sinead Ryan will be giving us the best tips on how to be clever with our taxes, in order to claim money back on our day to day expenditure.

Dozens of tax reliefs and allowances go unclaimed every year. Most people don’t claim because they think:

• It’s not worth it
• It’s too complicated
• Don’t know what’s available

Can we afford that kind of thinking anymore?  We pay our taxes ”“ we’re entitled to these reliefs.

• Claim back dated tax reliefs for up to 4 years
• Self assessed, but keep receipts for 6 years.
• Set a target to get back the €100 household charge you paid this year!
• Christine Keily (Taxback.com) says the average refund she finds for people is €840.

Helpful Websites:

href="http://www.citizensinformation.ie/">www.citizensinformation.ie

href="http://www.revenue.ie/">www.revenue.ie forms and leaflets or 1890 30 67 06 – 24 hour line.

PAYE workers generally assume their HR department look after tax. While they will calculate Income tax, USC, BIK and insurance, they don’t look after discretionary tax reliefs like medical or dental expenses or bin charges.  That’s up to you.

style="text-decoration: underline;">CHARITABLE DONATIONS

For PAYE workers, the tax break goes to the charity, rather than the donor.  It is very generous and well worth filling out the required CHY2 form.  It doesn’t matter whether you pay the donation in one go, or by monthly direct debit.

If it’s to a school, than your “voluntary donation” at the beginning of the year is fully allowable.

For 20pc taxpayers donating €500 a year, their charity is entitled to receive an extra €125; If you pay higher rate tax, your €500 will net the charity €847.46 in total.

If you are self-employed, you can claim the tax relief directly back yourself, but you wouldn’t be so mean, would you?

border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="616">
width="130" valign="top">Expense width="187" valign="top">Relief 2012 width="206" valign="top">How to claim width="92"> width="130" valign="top">3^rd Level Tuition Fees width="187" valign="top">20pc (capped at €7,000) with first €2,000 disallowed. width="206" valign="top">Form IT 31 width="92"> width="130" valign="top">Rent (private) width="187" valign="top">€240 net (under 55)

€480 net (over 55)

width="206" valign="top">Form Rent 1.  Relief is doubled for couples. width="92"> width="130" valign="top">Service Charges width="187" valign="top">Scrapped.  Claim for 2008 ”“ 2011 up to €80 p.a. width="206" valign="top">Text PPS number + CERT to 51829 width="92"> width="130" valign="top">DIRT Tax width="187" valign="top">Full tax refund of all DIRT width="206" valign="top">If over 65 and earn less than €18,000 p.a. (€36,000 couple), Form IT1 width="92"> width="130" valign="top">Medical Expenses width="187" valign="top">Anything not covered by your insurer or a compensation claim. Paid at 20pc rate.

Med1 /Med2 forms.

width="206" valign="top">Hospital charges, GP visits, hearing aids, wigs, false eyes, computer, exercise bike, dietary food if deemed medically necessary (Query: coeliac). width="92" valign="top">Not Incl: Routine dental treatment, cosmetic surgery or eye care. width="130" valign="top">Donations * (see example) width="187" valign="top">Tax relief for charity at marginal rate on donations over €250 pa. width="206" valign="top">Any registered charity or school width="92" valign="top">Unregistered charities.

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Website:  www.revenue.ie/services/flat_rate_exps.xls

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style="text-align: center;">If you have a query for next week regarding grants and allowances, e-mail tom@newstalk.ie