TAXPAYERS have been warned they may be missing out on as much as €800 in unclaimed refunds and credits from the Revenue. Millions of euro in tax refunds are going unclaimed every year by householders despite the fact that they have been hit by higher taxes in the last six budgets, tax consultant Darren Byrne of Taxback.com said.

A number of tax breaks have ended this year, but there are still refunds that workers are entitled to, Mr Byrne said. Tax breaks for this year are not as generous as previously, but taxpayers can still reclaim refunds as far back as 2009, he said. Mr Byrne said his the company last year oversaw an average payout of €840 for clients. “A lot of people still find filing a tax return confusing or complicated, resulting in them paying more tax than is necessary and losing out on entitlements,” Mr Byrne said.

“Revenue has made attempts to educate taxpayers as to their entitlements regarding tax credits and reliefs. However, despite this we believe that there are still millions of euros going unclaimed each year.” He said there was still a long list of tax reliefs available to people that could result in savings of hundreds of euro but many of these go unclaimed every year either due to a lack of awareness or unfortunately the apathetic nature of some people. Families were reminded that they can claim back 20pc of their spending on medical expenses.

Claims can be made for most medical expenses incurred and on qualifying non-routine dental expenses, according to the ‘Tab Guide to Money, Pensions and Tax 2013’, which is co-authored by Jill Kerby. And taxpayers can still get a tax credit for tuition fees. For the years 2009 to 2010, the max tax credit available was €1,000.

A change was introduced in the 2011 tax year where the relief does not apply to the first €2,000 of qualifying fee or if less, the full amount. A credit can be claimed for rent. The rent credit has been reduced to €200 for a single person and is set to be phased out by the end of 2017.

But taxpayers can still claim the rent credit back to 2009, provided that they were in rented accommodation on December 8, 2010. Tax relief on bin charges was abolished for the year 2011 and subsequent years.

However, taxpayers may still claim relief for prior tax years as far back as 2009, Mr Byrne said.

Souce: Charlie Weston Personal Finance Editor