The Revenue Commissioners have opened special helplines this morning to help deal with an expected flood of queries from pensioners concerned about additional tax that may be due on their pensions this year.
Retired people with large private pensions are likely to be pursued for arrears where it is found they underpaid tax due on their State benefits, the Revenue Commissioners said yesterday.
The files of at least 2,500 pensioners whose annual income is over €50,000 will be examined in the first instance, according to Revenue, but thousands of pensioners on smaller occupational pensions will not be affected.
“We cannot simply walk away from that group earning over €50,000, though the outcome will depend on individual circumstances,” said a Revenue spokeswoman. “However, our focus will be on those with the largest liability and in many cases where people have small extra tax liabilities it may be uneconomic for us to pursue this.”
Pensioners in the higher tax bracket could have to pay an additional €4,400 a year for a single person, or €8,800 for a couple.
Some 150,000 pensioners received letters, after Revenue received detailed information from the Department of Social Protection about pension payments for the first time.
About 115,000 people have been told they will have to pay extra tax, in most cases because the tax authorities were unaware they were receiving State benefits in addition to their private pension, while 20,000 have overpaid.
The action is expected to account for the vast majority of the €45 million that the Government expects to save this year through closer data sharing between Revenue and the department.
The news caused shock and dismay among many of those who received the letters, and Revenue helplines were overloaded yesterday. Age Action said some older people had misunderstood their obligations and called for a public information campaign.
The helplines will be open until 4.30pm today with a normal weekday service resuming on Monday.
The number for callers in Dublin is 1890 333 425. People in Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath can call 1890 777 425 while those living in Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick can call 1890 222 425. People living in Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Meath, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow can call 1890 444 425.