More than 150,000 mortgage accounts are ineligible for interest relief in the wake of a Government-imposed limit of seven years on that relief, Revenue announced today.
In the supplementary budget on April 7th, the Government stated that from May 1st, the tax relief on qualifying principal private residence loans would be available only for the first seven years of the loan. The relief is generally extended through tax relief at source (TRS).
After examining its records and liaising with financial institutions, Revenue said it has determined the status of 430,000 mortgage accounts - 76 per cent of the total - with 154,000 ruled ineligible for tax relief after May 1st and 276,000 deemed eligible.
In the case of the remaining approximately 134,000 mortgage accounts, Revenue said "definitive entitlement or non-entitlement" to mortgage interest
has not yet been established. It is writing to these account holders seeking some additional information, with these letters going out to those account holders over the next 10 days.
Revenue said a simple online facility will allow people to quickly reactivate their tax relief through the tax-relief-at-source system without the need for any further action by the borrower. Any arrears of tax relief due back to May 1st will also be paid automatically through the TRS system.
Mortgage account holders need not to do anything until and unless they receive a letter from Revenue.
Information on mortgage interest relief is available on the Revenue website at www.revenue.ie. Revenue said borrowers without online access will also be catered for.
The maximum relief involved under the seven-year rule is €75 a month or €37.50 for a single person. In many cases it would be less than these amounts.
