WE’RE INTO THE second full week of January and after the busy festive period, a lot of people are probably feeling that payday is a long way off – especially if they got paid early in December.

But there’s potentially some good news if you’re in need of a financial boost: claiming back some of the tax you’re owed can help your bank account look a little more healthy.

A lot of people don’t realise they can do this, and January is an especially good time to if you haven’t because the last tax year has just ended.

So how do you go about doing it?

Firstly, if you’re an employee – as opposed to self-employed – you should file a tax return for last year and any other years you haven’t claimed for.

Most employees pay tax through the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) system, which means your employer deducts the tax you owe directly from your wages and pays it directly to Revenue.

But that also means many employees have never filled out an income tax return, or may not have done so for a while.

There’s no obligation for you to do so, but everyone who’s a PAYE earner can, and the system itself is quite straightforward.

Revenue has helpfully outlined the process here. It involves logging into your Revenue.ie or MyGov account.

And you’re entitled to claim tax back for the previous four years – which includes various expenses you’ve had in that time from doctor’s bills, prescriptions, working from home, the renter’s credit or mortgage relief.

Any medical expense you have that is either prescribed by a doctor or carried out by a medical professional, like a doctor or physio, can be claimed up to 20%.

Non-routine dental expenses can also be claimed, and if you’re celiac or diabetic, then gluten-free and sugar-free can too.

Revenue has a whole list of medical expenses that can be claimed available here.

But that’s not all. There are over 180 occupations that benefit from a “Flat Rate Expense”, which allows certain employees to claim deductions for certain expenses, like tools and work uniforms.

It includes everything from shop assistants working in retail, architects, bus drivers and medical scientists. The full list is here.

All you need to do is select the industry you are working in when filling out your return, and that’s it – you don’t necessarily need to be paying the expense you’re claiming for.

Anyone who has worked from home since January 2022 can also reclaim 30% of their electricity, heating or broadband bills through an Income Tax return.

The relief is apportioned on the number of days an employee spent working from home over the year, and any remote working reimbursements paid out by your employer are deducted.

If the cost is shared between two or more people, it can be apportioned based on the amount each paid towards the energy bills.

The formula that multiplies utility bills by the number of remote working days. This figure is divided by 365 (or by 366 in a leap year) and then multiplied by 30% (0.3). Any remote working allowance reimbursed by your employer is deducted.

Renters can also claim the Rent Tax Credit, which is worth €1,000 per person, while mortgage holders can claim mortgage interest relief (details are found here).