What the rent tax credit actually does

The rent tax credit reduces your Irish income tax bill euro for euro. It is not a deduction from your income, so a credit of a given size saves you exactly that amount, as long as you have enough tax to pay in the first place. If you only owe €600 in income tax for the year, a larger credit cannot get you more than that back.

It is aimed at people who rent their home and are not on a rent subsidy such as HAP. If you have been paying rent and have never claimed, this is worth checking today.

Who can claim

You can usually claim if all of these apply:

  • You pay rent on a private rental property in Ireland that is your main home, or you pay rent for your child's accommodation while they are a student.
  • Your landlord is registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) for the tenancy.
  • You pay Irish income tax.
  • You are not receiving HAP, Rent Supplement or a similar housing support for the same period.

Couples who are married or in a civil partnership can split the credit between them, or one person can claim it. Two unmarried people who share a rental can each claim their own part, but not the same rent twice.

What you need before you apply

Keep it simple and collect these first:

  • Your RTB registration number for the tenancy. Your landlord must give you this if you ask.
  • Your landlord's name and address.
  • Proof you paid the rent, such as bank statements or receipts.
  • Your PPSN and your Revenue myAccount login.

If the tenancy is not registered with the RTB, you cannot claim for that rent. This is the most common reason claims fail, so ask your landlord early.

How to claim

  1. Log in to Revenue myAccount at revenue.ie.
  2. Open your PAYE services and choose the option to review your tax for the year.
  3. Select the rent tax credit and enter the landlord and RTB details.
  4. Submit. Revenue updates your tax credits, and your employer lowers your tax from the next payslip, or you get a refund of what you overpaid.

You can usually claim for several previous years too, as Revenue accepts claims going back four years. If you rented for years and never claimed, go back and check each year.

A worked example

Say you earn €40,000 as a single person. Income tax at 20% is €8,000. Your personal and PAYE credits are €2,000 each, so you pay €4,000 before any rent credit. Any rent credit you qualify for is taken from that €4,000. If the credit is the same amount you can claim, that is a straight cut in your tax bill with no change to your pay rate.

You can see how this fits with USC and PRSI in our Ireland salary calculator.

Common mistakes

  • Claiming for rent that was paid in cash with no record. Without proof, Revenue may refuse it.
  • Claiming when your landlord is not registered with the RTB.
  • Forgetting that the credit amount and rules can change in a Budget. Check the current amount on Revenue's website before you file.
  • Both partners claiming the same rent.

The short version

If you rent in Ireland with an RTB registered landlord and pay income tax, claim the credit. It takes about ten minutes in myAccount and can be backdated. Check the current credit amount on revenue.ie, because Budget changes alter it from year to year.

A multi-year claim example

Suppose you rented the same flat for the last three tax years and never claimed. To keep the sums simple, assume the credit was €1,000 a year (check the real figure for each year on revenue.ie). You paid more than €1,000 in income tax each year, so you can use the full credit every time. Three backdated claims come to €3,000, paid as one refund. If you share the flat with a partner and you are not married, each of you claims your own half of the rent and your own credit, but you must each have the RTB details and proof of what you paid.

If your tax bill in one of those years was only €600, you can only recover €600 for that year, because the credit cannot be more than the tax you owe.

Questions people ask

Can I claim if I rent a room in someone's house? Rent a room in a private home can qualify when the tenancy is registered, but rooms in a landlord's own home are often outside RTB registration. Ask Revenue before you file.

What if my landlord refuses to give me the RTB number? They must register the tenancy by law. You can look up the registration on the RTB website using the address, or report the problem to the RTB.

Does it affect my other credits? No. It sits alongside your personal, PAYE and other credits.

How long does a claim take? Online claims are often processed within a few days, but a refund for past years can take a few weeks.

Do I need a tenancy agreement? Revenue usually asks for the RTB number, not the agreement itself, but keep the agreement and your payment records in case of a review.

Can I claim if I moved during the year? Yes, but you need the details of each landlord and each tenancy, and each tenancy must be registered.