By Seamus Parfrey  

One Big Switch launched in Ireland this month with the Big Energy Switch, a campaign to unlock group discounted electricity and gas. 

This national group switching campaign is the first of its kind in Ireland, and is a campaigning technique pioneered by One Big Switch globally.

Oliver Tattan, an Irish entrepreneur who has spent the best part of the last decade building businesses that drive competition and better consumer outcomes in the Irish health insurance market, brought one Big Switch to Ireland.

He saw that as the financial crisis slowly receded, Irish consumers were facing an affordability crisis, prices for households essentials were rising much faster than household income and he wants to reverse this trend.

One Big Switch is now one of the worlds largest consumer organisations, and the fastest growing consumer network in the world.

Joining is obligation-free and cost-free. You are simply joining a campaign to help unlock discounted energy offers.

How does it work?

There are three simple steps.

Step 1: You register. Registration is obligation-free and cost-free, and requires only some basic information.

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By Noel Murphy

Taxation Tips You Can Avail of Before 31 October 2014.

1. Deadline date.

Late filing will result in an automatic late filing surcharge of 5% of the tax liability if a return of income is filed within the first two months of the deadline and 10% of the tax liability if filed thereafter.

Please note for directors the surcharge is based on the income tax liability before any credit for PAYE tax paid by the director.

Revenue can also impose interest and penalties on the late payment of your income tax liability.

2. Trading via a private limited company.

The annual profits of a company are taxed at 12.5%. A self-employed individual could potentially be taxed at 52% that is income tax at 41%, PRSI at 4% and USC at 7%. Therefore it is imperative to determine (a) whether trading through a private limited company would be more cost effective for you and (b) what tax you can save.

3. Tax credits and standard rate bands.

If you are a director in a company and want to take the most tax efficient salary from your company then you should always consider maximising the salary you can take from the company at the 20% rate band. For the tax years 2013 and 2014 and for a single individual this is €32,800. Please note proprietary directors are not entitled to claim the PAYE tax credit.

4. Non domiciled taxpayers.

Non domiciled taxpayers need to be mindful of the income they are remitting to Ireland. Any income earned prior to becoming resident in Ireland should be kept in a separate bank account. The taxpayer can remit this to Ireland as capital and potentially avoid an income tax liability on same.  

5. Time limit for claiming refunds.

If you believe you are due an income tax refund for prior years please note that claims for refunds must be made within 4 years of the end of the year to which the claim relates. Claims made after this time cannot be repaid.

6. Personal pension payments.

Additional pension payments can still be made up until 31 October and tax relief at 41% claimed for the tax year 2013. Relief is based on a percentage of your net relevant earnings and your age.

7. 2013 Medical and dental expenses.

Tax relief for medical expenditure incurred in 2013 such as doctor fees, consultancy fees can be claimed if not already reimbursed by your healthcare provider. A form Med 2 will need to be requested from your dentist before tax relief can be claimed on non routine dental treatment received.

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• P30 monthly return and payment for February 2014

• Deadline for claiming joint assessment / separate assessment for 2014