From January 2021, Revenue issued preliminary End of Year statements for all employees for the year 2020. This allowed for employees to review their income tax & USC liabilities (if any) due to receiving the TWSS (Temporary Wage Subsidy).
Employers can pay some or all of this liability on behalf of their employee’s but are not obliged to do so. Employers initially had until 30 June 2021 to review their TWSS reconciliation information provided by Revenue and provide any outstanding information in relation to subsidies paid to employees and accept the reconciliation balance on ROS.
Deadline Extension
This deadline has now been extended to the end of September 2021 by Revenue to ensure employers have full information following the TWSS reconciliation process. Each employee in receipt of this subsidy must complete their 2020 Income Tax Return before then.
This is to ensure the correct subsidy payments were paid to these employers and the correct amounts were paid to employees.
Benefit-in-Kind
Revenue will not apply Benefit-in-kind to these payments made on behalf of employees. This applies to all employees, regardless if jointly assessed with their spouse or a propriety director, providing the employer pays the TWSS liabilities for all employees in the company.
Direct Temporary Wage Subsidy (DTWS)
Some employees who have not yet received their full TWSS entitlement and due additional payments, will be refunded through the DTWS. Payments through DTWS, should be finalised by Revenue by the end of June 2021.
Balance of liability due
It is essential employers engage with their employees to confirm the amount of TWSS liabilities that the employer will be paying. Any balance of liability due, will be offset against the employees credits over the next 4 years.
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