Revenue only lets you look back four years. Every 31 December, one year falls out of that window, and any refund you didn’t claim for it goes with it. This year it’s 2022. According to Revenue’s four-year rule, claims for 2022 must be made by 31 December 2026, and claims made after that date can’t be repaid.
If you’re a PAYE worker and you’ve never filed a tax return for 2022, it’s worth ten minutes to check.
Why you might be owed money for 2022
PAYE takes tax from your wages every payday, but it can only use the credits and reliefs Revenue already knows about. Anything you didn’t tell Revenue about in 2022, such as your rent, a dental crown, college fees or the uniform you wash at home, never made it into the calculation.
The only way to get that money back is to file an Income Tax Return for 2022. Revenue then issues a Statement of Liability showing whether you overpaid.
The most common 2022 claims
| Claim | How it worked in 2022 |
|---|---|
| Rent Tax Credit | New for 2022. 20% of the rent you paid, up to €500 for a single person or €1,000 for a jointly assessed couple. |
| Health expenses | 20% of qualifying costs: GP and consultant visits, prescriptions, physio on referral, and non-routine dental such as crowns and braces. |
| Flat rate expenses | A fixed deduction for jobs on Revenue’s list. For 2022: nurses who buy and wash their own uniforms €733, teachers €518, shop assistants €121. Relief is at your marginal rate. |
| Remote working relief | 30% of your electricity, heating and broadband, apportioned for the days you worked from home, with relief at your highest rate. |
| Tuition fees | 20% of fees above a €3,000 disregard (€1,500 if all courses were part-time), on fees of up to €7,000 per course. |
| Getting married | In the year you marry you’re taxed as two single people. If joint assessment would have cost less, you can claim back the difference from your wedding date. |
Many renters never claimed the Rent Tax Credit in its first year, so 2022 is often where it’s missing. Sources: Rent Tax Credit, qualifying health expenses, flat rate expenses list, remote working, tuition fees, year of marriage.
Don’t stop at 2022
2023, 2024 and 2025 are still open too. From 2024, the Rent Tax Credit doubled to €1,000 for a single person and €2,000 for a jointly assessed couple, so for many renters the later years are worth more than 2022 was.
| Tax year | Claim by |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 31 December 2026 |
| 2023 | 31 December 2027 |
| 2024 | 31 December 2028 |
| 2025 | 31 December 2029 |
How to claim 2022 yourself
- Log in to myAccount and open PAYE Services.
- Choose "Review your tax for the previous 4 years" and request a Statement of Liability for 2022.
- Select "Complete Income Tax Return" and add the credits and reliefs you’re due.
- Check the bank details on your Revenue record. According to Revenue, refunds go to that account, usually within three to five working days of the return being processed.
Have your receipts, rent details and landlord’s information to hand before you start. Revenue’s emergency tax refund guide walks through the same myAccount steps.
Prefer someone else to do it?
TaxRoots can review all four open years for you, check every credit and relief, file the returns and keep you posted until Revenue pays. We’ll tell you what we find before anything is filed, including the rare case where a review shows tax owed.