If you are renting accommodation privately (whether in Ireland or outside the State) and pay income tax, you may be eligible for tax relief on part of your rent.
You can only claim this relief if you were already renting at 7 December 2010. If you were not renting on that date and you subsequently entered into a rental agreement, you will not be able to claim tax relief on your rent. However, if you were renting at 7 December 2010 you will continue to qualify for this relief even if you enter a different rental agreement after that date.
The relief is being phased out and 2017 will be its last year.
Only the rent for private rented accommodation that you use as your sole or main residence will qualify for tax relief. This includes flats, apartments and houses.
You cannot claim tax relief for rent paid to a local authority or a State agency, or for rent paid under a lease agreement for 50 years or more.
If you are a long term renter, who began renting on or before 07th December 2010, here are your entitlements.
To claim rent relief you can complete Form Rent 1 (pdf) and send it to your tax office. Here is the form you will need: form-claim-for-rent-relief-for-private-rented-accommodation
Alternatively, you can claim the tax relief using Revenue’s PAYE anytime service. You access PAYE Anytime through Revenue’s myAccount service
As with all tax reliefs, you must claim within 4 years of the end of the year to which it refers, or you will not get the relief.