Couple get €10,000 tax back after making payslip discovery 'lots of people' miss

Irish people have been told to brush up on their knowledge of their payslips and tax situation after one couple managed to reclaim €10,000 in overpaid tax.

Emer Kirwan of Jigsaw Business Solutions spoke to Ciara Doherty who was presenting the Hard Shoulder programme on Newstalk radio on Thursday.

Emer said Irish people often don't pay enough heed to their own finances with many not able to read their own payslip correctly. She encouraged listeners to brush up on their knowledge. 

"We do need to educate people. Should it be on employers, should they have a piece around how to read your payslip?" Emer commented before praising the Local Enterprise Offices around the country for their work helping small businesses in this area.

In encouraging people to examine their own payslips, Emer recalled a story of a previous client: "I worked with a lady a couple of years ago and I just looked at her tax and I was saying to her, 'I think you have more tax credits than you're utilising. We unravelled it and there was €10,000 between her and her husband. Her tax credits were attached to her, she wasn't making enough employment and her husband was being taxed highly, so we got €10,000 back.

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"So, it's worth educating yourself what the tax credits are, how much am I earning. Lots of people don't understand, everyone is given a single tax credit or a PAYE or an earned income credit. So, understanding that and looking for additional ones, looking for medical expenses, the mortgage relief one, etc," she added. 

You can listen to Emer's full interview with Ciara Dohery here.