1. PERSONAL INCOME TAX

All self-employed individuals and proprietary directors must submit income tax returns for the tax year ended 31 December 2008 and pay any liability on or before 31^st October 2009 or the 15^th November 2009 if done through ROS on-line. Surcharges and interest apply for late returns so you should ensure that you get them in on time. Ensure that you take into account the following when preparing your return:

- Medical expenses incurred by you for anyone during the year

- Service charges

- Third level tuition fees

- Donations to charities(self employed Give and receive a tax deduction where donation over €250)

- Any covenants to a parent over 65

- The recent income levy should be taken into account when determining preliminary tax obligations

2. 3 YEAR TAX EXEMPTION FOR START UP COMPANIES

New start-up companies which were incorporated on or after 14 October 2008 and who commenced trading in 2009 will be exempt from corporation tax in each of the first three years to the extent that their tax liability does not exceed €40,000. Certain service companies are excluded from this and it is subject to confirmation of ministerial order

3. VAT

Bad Debt Relief

Where you pay VAT on the invoice basis and have incurred bad debts or you are unlikely to receive payment then you should consider reclaiming any VAT originally paid to Revenue.

Cash Receipts Basis of VAT

A significant cash flow advantage can be made if you avail of accounting for VAT on the cash receipts basis instead of the invoice basis where eligible. Here you only pay VAT if you have received the money. This applies to those businesses where turnover is less then €1,000,000 or to those businesses where 90% of sales are to unregistered persons.

Direct Debit Arrangement

While payment of VAT by direct debit can be a good discipline it may be worthwhile to look at the likely liability to determine if the direct debits should be reduced to reflect current liabilities.

Administration

Typically VAT returns are done on a bi-monthly basis. However where your annual liability is less then€3,000 you may be entitled to submit VAT returns for a six month period and where the annual liability is between €3,001 and €14,400 you may be entitled to submit a four-monthly return.