In safe hands?

Q&A:Q My wife and I are fortunate to have relatively large sums on deposit with one of the main Irish banks through their London branch. I understand the jurisdiction for this is Dublin and therefore ask whether you know if the existing state of the deposit guarantee is likely to fall foul of European scrutiny in respect of cover for the "branch network" of the six main Irish banks.

I am not sure if these deposits are "technically" in Ireland and hence covered anyway, but appreciate any thoughts you can give on this.

Currently, all deposits with the six banks, wherever placed, are guaranteed I understand. Are the Europeans likely to be happy with this or does it not apply to deposits in Dublin's jurisdiction anyway? Will they be satisfied now the guarantee is opened to other foreign-owned banks?

Mr T.H., London

A Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan formally signed into effect the ministerial order giving effect to the guarantee scheme last Friday after the Irish banks and building societies accepted its terms.

There is no specific mention of the overseas branch operations of the Irish banks, although their foreign subsidiaries are specifically provided for.

However, as branches of the domestically-based Irish operation, deposits in UK branches will be covered by the scheme. The scheme has been approved by the European Commission, so there is no threat to your savings on that point, at least for the next two years - the lifetime of the guarantee.

Guarantee for Anglo Isle of Man deposits

Q Would you please tell me if deposits in Anglo Irish Isle of Man (as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anglo Irish) are covered by the Government's bank guarantee?

Mr N.H., e-mail

A Final reassurance about the position of savers with Anglo's Isle of Man subsidiary emerged last Friday. It's a significant issue to judge by the volume of queries on the subject to this column recently.

Following the signing by the Minister for Finance of the ministerial order confirming that the six major Irish-owned institutions - AIB, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Life & Permanent, EBS and Irish Nationwide - were covered by the scheme, Anglo issued a statement on Friday to confirm the scheme covered its international division, based in the Isle of Man.

That means that all deposits in Anglo's Isle of Man operations are covered for the next two years. Just to ease the nerves of depositors with other banks, the order also covers AIB's subsidiaries in Britain, the Channel Island and North America. Bank of Ireland's ICS building society operation is also covered as its Isle of Man subsidiary. The Isle of Man operations of Irish Life & Permanent and Irish Nationwide are similarly protected.

Time limit for claim on capital gains tax

Q On sending in my assessment for capital gains tax, Revenue inform me that claims can only date back four years where previously claims could date back six years. Is this a recent ruling and in which Finance Act is it mentioned?

Mr G.C., Dublin

A The situation with capital gains tax is that you are supposed to file by the end of October in relation to transactions in the first nine months of any year and by January 31st in respect of assets sold in the last three months of the preceding year.

However, people who have been nursing losses may well have assumed there was no need to make a filing. After all, they owed the taxman nothing, rather the contrary. However, it is the case that all claims for tax relief now need to be filed within four years of the year in which they occur. Once notified, of course, losses incurred in the sale of assets can be carried forward until they are fully offset.

This change was formalised in the Finance Act, 2003. It provided that, from January 1st, 2005, you would only be able to claim back tax overpaid during the four previous years. Prior to that, taxpayers had been able to claim refunds arising anytime in the previous decade.

Unfortunately, there is no such statute of limitations on the revenue pursuing you for failure to correctly pay your tax bill.

How to avail of household benefits

Q While reading The Irish Times, I discovered for the first time the existence of the household benefits package and I've got a couple of questions relating to it .

I'm a single man, in full-time employment, living with my parents, both of whom are aged over 70. Is it true that my income would not affect, in any way, any allowances towards electricity/gas, telephone and television licence that one or other of my parents would be entitled to under the package?

Secondly, the ESB, Bord Gais and phone bills are all in my father's name, but the TV licence is in my mother's name. Does this mean both have to submit separate claims or would it be easier to have the TV licence transferred to my father's name?

Mr M.P., Waterford

A The first and, in your case, most significant point is that, in terms of your parents' eligibility for the household benefits package, it is irrelevant that you are living in the house.

However, if your parents are not already in receipt of the package, you should get them to apply sooner rather than later.

The package is open to anyone over the age of 70. There are a number of other conditions. First, if they are applying for the electricity or gas allowance, they must be living year round at the address for which the bills arise. They must also be the registered consumer of electricity or gas and the register account holder for the telephone at that address.

Finally, only one person at each address can receive the allowances. In your parents' case, the fact that the ESB, Bord Gais and phone bills are in your father's name is fine.

There is no problem with the TV licence being in your mother's name. What happens is that the Department of Social and Family Affairs notifies An Post of your entitlement to a free TV licence from the date of the next renewal.

It is worth mentioning that your parents are entitled only to the electricity allowance or the gas allowance, but not both. So what is it worth and how is it paid? The electricity allowance covers normal standing charges and up to 2,400 units of electricity per year, or up to 400 units in each two-month billing period. You can carry up to 1,200 unused free units between billing periods. The allowance is paid as a credit on your ESB bill.

The natural gas allowance is also applied to your account. It covers the standing charge and kilowatt hours up to €57 during summer billing periods and €123 during winter billing periods. The total payable in a year is €540.

The telephone allowance can be paid in respect either of a landline phone or a mobile. If you opt for a landline account, the allowance will be paid as a credit on the telephone bill.

The credit is worth €42.80 plus VAT (a total of €51.80) if you are billed every two months or €21.40 plus VAT (a total of €25.90) if you receive your bill each month.

If you opt to apply the allowance to a mobile account, it will be paid on the first Tuesday of each month to a bank account or through a post office.

Your parents will need to fill out a form HB1, which should be available from your local post office or the department. It can also be downloaded from the department's website, www.welfare.ie, and should be returned to:

Household Benefits Section,

Social Welfare Services,

FREEPOST,

College Road,

Sligo.

Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or by e-mail to dcoyle@irish-times.ie. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice. Due to the volume of mail, there may be a delay in answering questions. No personal correspondence will be entered into.