If you’ve worked in Australia in the last 10 years, you could be in for a tax windfall

This could be great news for any Irish people who have worked and paid tax Down Under since 2008.

Irish people who have worked in Australia in the last decade are reportedly owed hundreds of thousands in tax refunds, according to Taxback.com. The tax refund specialists reveal how in 2017 significant changes were introduced by the Australian Government, which mean that Irish working holiday visa holders now have to pay higher rates of tax on earnings. Taxback say that although changes have had an impact on refund entitlements, their experience is that people who have left Irish shores to work in Australia in the last 10 years could each be owed as much as $2,600.

Eileen Devereux, Commercial Director at www.taxback.com explained: "Australia’s tax year ends on June 30^th, at which point anyone who has worked in Australia the previous year needs to file a return. In light of this, we thought that this would be an opportune time to remind people not only of their filing obligations, but of their potential refund entitlements."

There are 4 primary cases in which people could find themselves getting a cheque from Australian revenue:

• The recent tax changes were not retrospectively introduced, meaning anyone who worked in Australia in the 9 years prior to the changes (2008-2016), and has since returned home could still be eligible for tax rebates based on the old regime and the historic rates of tax.
• Those who worked in Oz anytime between 2008 – 2016 could also be eligible for a superannuation refund. This is approximately 62% of the total fund accumulated.
• Anyone who worked after January 2017 could still be eligible for a refund for a myriad of reasons such as overpayment of tax, refund of emergency tax, not including relevant deductions etc.
• Post January 2017 workers could also be eligible for a superannuation refund – albeit at a lower rate – approximately 35% of the total fund accumulated.

Taxback also state in their Bullsh*t-Free Guide to Australian Working Holiday Taxes the June 30^th date is significant, because many Irish workers are not aware that they are legally obliged to file a tax return to Australian tax authorities once the tax year ends.