Section 132 of the Land and Conveyancing Law reform Act 2009 became effective on 28 February 2010 and it prohibits landlords including upward only provisions in leases. This has created 2 tiers of leases: Those created pre 28 February 2010 which will continue to have enforceable upward only clauses until the expiration of the lease,…
Read MoreThe issue of pensions and tax relief has been a topic of conversation over the last number of years particularly against the current economic backdrop. Further changes were included in the last Finance Act which will see the net value of certain pension benefits reduce arising from these changes. One of the main changes is…
Read MoreThe Start Your Own Business Relief was introduced as part of the last budget and runs from 25 October 2013 to 31 December 2016. It was introduced to provide income tax relief to long term unemployed individuals who start a new business. Who qualifies? In order to qualify for this relief the individual who sets…
Read MoreYou may be entitled to receive illness benefit from the Department of Social Protection if you cannot work because you are sick or ill. You must be aged under 66, covered by the appropriate class of social insurance (PRSI) and satisfy the PRSI conditions. From 6 January 2014 no Illness Benefit payment is made for…
Read More1. What is it? It is a fixed term, fixed rate “savings” product offered by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) and available for purchase through An Post. On top of zero fees, charges or sales commissions the bonus payments at end of the term are tax free. Two type of Bonds are available; – …
Read MoreYour worst nightmare is after paying for years into an insurance policy and on making a claim, to be told that the policy has lapsed and been encashed, all without your knowledge. Like all industries, the majority of insurance agents conduct their business in a correct and professional manner but unfortunately some rogue operators can…
Read MoreThe Finance (No. 2) Act 2013 was enacted on the 18th December 2013. There was no change to the standard rate or higher rate of income tax, which remain at 20% and 41%. The only change to tax credits was the replacement of the One Parent Family tax credit with the Single Person Child Carer…
Read MoreCompany law and tax law require companies and sole traders to maintain proper books and records. While this may appear to be a time consuming and thankless job for small businesses, the benefits of maintaining proper books and records can be very significant and may save the business time, energy and headaches when dealing with…
Read MoreGuest Blog by Steven Barrett of Bluewater Financial Planning. The method of valuing defined benefit pensions changed with effect from 1 January 2014. Previously, a capitalisation factor of 20 was used to value a defined benefit pension e.g. a pension of €50,000 was valued at €1m. It didn’t matter whether you retired at 60 or…
Read MoreThe Department of Finance reports monthly on the restructure situation in relation to all principal dwelling house (PDH) mortgages whether they are in arrears or not. This report involves the 6 main banks operating in Ireland and who represent 90% of the market – AIB, Bank of Ireland, PTSB, ACC, KBC Ireland & Ulster Bank.…
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