Q: Our employees use our fleet of company vans, is this classified as a benefit in kind?
Mary, Limerick
A: Van benefit in kind (BIK) arises where a van is ‘made available’ for private use by an employee.
However, the definition of ‘private use’ for company van benefits is more relaxed than for cars. No charge to BIK arises if the following conditions are met;
What happens if I am late filing my P35?
For Accountants and the country’s employers the middle of February brings another important day- the P35 deadline. February 15th is this years cut off point for filing the P35 form. The date can be extended if you use ROS, Revenue’s online filing system to the 23rd of February.
For more details on what is involved in filing a P35 return click here.
Q: Myself and my husband paid €12,000 interest on a mortgage I took out in 2006. How will the changes affect me?
A: You don’t say you in your question if this is your first mortgage. If it is you will qualify for additional relief, if not the relief you receive will not change. Assuming it’s your first mortgage the relief you will receive has been increased from 20% (you are on your 6th year of mortgage interest relief) in 2011 to 30% next year. So, in 2011 your relief would have been €2,400 and in 2012 it will be €3,600 so this new measure leaves you €1,200 better off. You do not have to do anything to claim this it should be handled by your bank at source.
![iStock_000016354947XSmall[1]](http://blog.taxassist.ie/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/iStock_000016354947XSmall1-205x136.jpg "iStock_000016354947XSmall[1]")
Q: I run a small software business employing 5 people. I’ve been interested in exploring new product avenues however I have never really gotten off the ground is now a good time for me to look at this again?
A: Yes is the short answer. The rules on R&D previously were quite restricted especially around how much work you could outsource. Under the new rules announced int he Budget you could outsource up to €100,000 of R&D and still claim the tax credit. You could for example look to outsource the R&D to a locla Universty. If you were to spend €100,000 on research, the R&D credit would give you a saving of up to €37,500 (€25,000 R&D credit and €12,500 tax saving).
Roddy is the Training Manager for TaxAssist Accountants and a practicing chartered accountant for over 30 years.
