Personal Tax
- BIK on electric vehicles
The BIK exemption for electric vehicles has been extended to 31 December 2021. There is no taxable BIK on electric vehicles with an original market value (OMV) of €50,000 or less. A deduction of €50,000 will be available for electric vehicles with an OMV more than €50,000 when determining the BIK.
- Interest relief for landlords
From 1 January 2019, landlords can claim a full deduction of 100% of qualifying loan interest against residential rental income. Previously this was limited to 80%.
- Rent-a-room relief
A minimum rental period of 28 days has been introduced in order to qualify for rent-a-room relief on rent received in respect of a letting of a room in your home.
- Tax Credits
Self employed & proprietary directors will get an extra tax credit of €250 in 2019. The home carer tax credit will increase from €1,200 to €1,500 from 1 January 2019.
Capital Taxes
- Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT)
The CAT Group A threshold which applies to gifts and inheritances from parents to their children has been increased by €10,000 to €320,000 for gifts and inheritances received on or after 10 October 2018.
- Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
There is relief from CGT on the transfer of a site from parents to a child for the purposes of building their home. This relief has been amended from 1 January 2019 to allow it to apply to transfers both to a child and his/her spouse/civil partner.
Wear & Tear Capital Allowances
Budget 2019 introduced accelerated capital allowance i.e. relief for 100% of the cost in the year of purchase for:
- Employer provided childcare and fitness facilities
- New gas propelled vehicles and refuelling equipmen
Accelerated allowances are also available for energy efficient equipment (including electric and alternative fuel vehicles).
VAT
From 1 January 2019, goods and services previously subject to VAT at 9% will be subject to VAT at 13.5% except for the provision of sporting facilities and the supply of newspapers and other periodicals.
In addition, the VAT rate on electronically supplied books, newspapers and periodicals will be reduced from 23% to 9% from 1 January 2019.
Hotels, hospitality and hairdressing services are among those to see the rise from 9% to 13.5% in January.