Nearly four billion euro of income tax has been claimed back from Revenue since 2010, according to a Fianna Fail TD.
Michael McGrath is encouraging the public to get in contact with the Revenue if they think they may have overpaid income tax.
Mr McGrath said: “While some of this €4bn refunded to taxpayers relates to tax relief being claimed on health expenses, nursing home fees and other allowable expenses, a significant amount of it was only repaid because the person sought a P21 balancing statement at the end of the tax year.
“People may have overpaid tax, for example, because their tax credits were not correctly applied or because they did not claim all the credits or reliefs they were entitled to.
“People who changed employment during the year or couples who were not being assessed in the right way may also have been overpaying tax.”
The party’s spokesperson on finance received the information following questions to Finance Minister Paschal Donohue in the Dail.
It has emerged that nearly €4 billion of overpaid income tax has been claimed back from the Revenue Commissioners since 2010.
In the same period, the Revenue recouped almost €1bn in underpaid tax from taxpayers.
Mr McGrath added: “The government and Revenue should lead an information campaign to make people more aware of credits such as the Home Carer Tax Credit and reliefs for third level tuition fees.
“The new PAYE Modernisation system in place since January 2019 should now automatically correct most overpayments or underpayments of income tax, but this system was not in place for previous years.
“Taxpayers should be aware of the four-year rule for claiming back any overpaid tax.
“I would encourage people to look at the income tax they have paid over the last four years and if they believe that they have overpaid in those years, through their employer, they should seek a refund from the Revenue by requesting a P21 Balancing Statement.”
