Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 1084

Surcharge for late returns

Section 1084 imposes a surcharge on any taxpayer — individual or corporate — who fails to file a tax return on or before the specified return date, with the surcharge calculated as a percentage of the tax liability and subject to caps that vary according to the length of the delay.

• A surcharge of 5% of the tax due (maximum €12,695) applies where the return is filed within two months of the return filing date, rising to 10% (maximum €63,485) where the return remains outstanding beyond two months.
• A return filed on time but containing deliberate or careless errors is treated as a late return unless the errors are corrected before the filing deadline; however, no surcharge applies where a penalty under section 1077E or 1077F has already been imposed for the incorrect return.
• Company directors — and their jointly assessed spouses or civil partners — cannot use PAYE credits to reduce the amount on which the surcharge is calculated, meaning the surcharge applies to the full tax liability before any PAYE deduction.
• A new business is given an extended filing deadline for its first year of trading: the surcharge only applies if the return is filed later than the specified return date for the second year of the business, though this concession is unavailable where the taxpayer or a jointly assessed spouse or civil partner already carries on an existing business.

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