Simple tips to review your tax situation – and lighten the load during crisis

By Declan McEvoy, IFAC

The unprecedented circumstances currently facing businesses makes it more important than ever to carefully manage your tax affairs – so IFAC, the farming, food, and agribusiness professional services firm, is sharing the following practical tax tips with Galway businesses to help with cashflow difficulties during the Covid-19 crisis.

When calculating your preliminary corporation or income tax, this can be based on 90% of your 2020 income rather than 100% of 2019 income.

You should also consider whether a phased payment could benefit your business – or changing your year-end from December to June to capture poor trading results in the first six months of the year.

Check whether your business could benefit from the Covid-19 Wage Support Scheme.

If your business has ceased trading, terminal losses for income tax purposes should be claimed as soon as possible.

Even still, you must file on time – and if you anticipate difficulty, engage with Revenue at the earliest opportunity.

Corporation Tax

Revenue has confirmed that the application of a surcharge for Corporation Tax returns for accounting periods ending June 2019 onwards (i.e. due from March 23 onwards) is suspended until further notice.

The published Revenue position refers only to a surcharge on the filing of Corporation Tax returns.

The late payment of the related tax liability will attract interest. Revenue will not impose interest on the late payment of certain VAT and PAYE liabilities, but this does not extend to Corporation Tax liabilities.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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