Revenue Job Assist is an additional tax allowance for people who have been unemployed for 12 months or more and who are now returning to employment. An extra tax allowance can be claimed for each qualifying child (see below). The tax allowance can be claimed for 3 tax years and may begin with either the tax year in which the employment commences or the following tax year. The scheme is an alternative to existing employment schemes and you cannot claim these tax allowances if you are participating in another employment scheme.
You may qualify for Revenue Job Assist if you are:
The job you are taking up must:
There is an explanatory leaflet for employees on Revenue Job Assist (pdf).
Revenue Job Assist only applies if you are taking up a job and does not apply if you are becoming self-employed. It can only be set against income from the new job that you have taken up. You can change jobs once and retain the balance of the credit. The tax allowance can be claimed irrespective of your marital status.
A qualifying child is a child of yours who is:
Two people can claim for the same child but only one allowance can be claimed for each qualifying child in any year. If 2 people are entitled to claim for the same child, the allowance is split between them as follows:
In addition to the special tax allowance, under Revenue Job Assist, you can keep your medical card for 3 years from the date of return to work. You can also retain other secondary benefits, such as Fuel Allowance, for 3 years, provided your weekly income is less than €317.43. However the amount of Rent Supplement you get may be reduced.
Employers who employ people who qualify for Revenue Job Assist can make a double deduction of the employee's wages from their company's taxable income for up to 3 years provided that the employee remains with them. This means that double the amount of the wages of a qualifying employee and double the amount of the employer’s PRSI contribution for that employee can be deducted by the employer from the company’s taxable income.
Example:
An employee who started work in January 2011 is paid €350 a week, (€18,200
a year) and qualifies for Revenue Job Assist. If that employee continues to
work for the employer until the end of 2013, the employer can reduce his
taxable income by double the amount of the employee’s wages and double the
amount of employer’s PRSI as follows:
| Deduction | Amount |
| Employee’s annual wages = €18,200 x 2 | €36,400 |
| Employer’s annual PRSI 2011 = €1,547 x 2 | €3,094 |
| Total annual tax deduction 2011 | €39,494 |
So in 2011 under Revenue Job Assist the company’s taxable income may be reduced by €39,494. In 2012 and 2013 it may be reduced by €37,947 each year. This would come to a total tax deduction of €115,388. You can find further information in the leaflet, Revenue Job Assist IT59 – information for employers.
Employer's PRSI exemption: If you take on extra employees under the Revenue Job Assist scheme in 2012, you may qualify for the Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme for up to 18 months.
The Revenue Job Assist allowances are at your highest rate of tax and appear as an increase to your tax credits as follows:
| Year One: | extra allowance of €3,810 and €1,270 for each qualifying child |
| Year Two | reducing to two-thirds of this amount, that is, €2,540 and €850 for each child |
| Year Three | one-third of amount allowed in year one, that is, €1,270 and €425 for each child |
Complete Part 1 of form RJA1 at the end of the Revenue leaflet IT58 (pdf). This form is also available from your local tax office.
Contact your local tax office.