Know your rights: Stay and Spend Tax Incentive

Question: I have booked a hotel break in Kerry in October. What is the new Stay and Spend scheme and how does it work?

The new Stay and Spend scheme allows you to claim
tax back on accommodation, food and non-alcoholic drink (known as qualifying expenditure) bought between 1
October 2020 and 30 April 2021.

You can check if a business is participating in the scheme by looking out for the
‘Stay & Spend Tax Credit’ logo or you can check Revenue’s list of qualifying service providers.

Under the terms of the incentive:

• You must spend a minimum of €25 in a single
  transaction on qualifying expenditure and submit the receipt to Revenue
• You can submit receipts up to a total of
  €625, or €1,250 for a jointly-assessed married couple
• Revenue will provide an income tax credit
  of up to €125 per person, or up to €250 for a jointly-assessed married couple

 You can claim
expenses on:

• Fáilte Ireland registered accommodation, including hotels,
  guest houses, B&Bs, self-catering, caravan parks, camping parks and holiday
  camps.
• Food and non-alcoholic drink – served in a café,
  restaurant, hotel or pub.

You cannot claim expenses on takeaway food, alcoholic
drinks, drinks (either alcoholic or non-alcoholic) served without food or amounts
below €25.

You do not need to be on a
‘staycation’ to avail of the scheme. You can also claim
for expenses you paid in your local area if they meet the definition of
qualifying expenditure.

You must have receipts to prove your claim for Stay
and Spend expenses.

You
can make your claim in two stages:

1. Submit your receipts to Revenue using the Revenue
   Receipts Tracker mobile app or using
   the receipts
   tracker service in Revenue’s myAccount 
2. Make an electronic claim for Stay and Spend tax
   credit through your Income tax return – Form 12 in myAccount (if you are a PAYE
   taxpayer) or Form 11 in ROS (if you are self- employed).

Read more about the Stay and Spend Tax Credit on citizensinformation.ie

During
the COVID-19 pandemic, you can find comprehensive integrated information online
at citizensinformation.ie/covid19/ and
you can get daily updates on what’s changed on Twitter at @citizensinfo.
You can also get information and advice from:

• The
  Citizens Information Phone Service: Call 0761
  07 4000, Monday to Friday, 9am – 8pm
• Our
  national call back service: Visit citizensinformation.ie/callback to
  request a phone call from an information officer

A limited number
of appointments are being made in Citizens Information Centres offices where
social distancing can be facilitated. You can continue to contact your local
centre by email or phone using the details in Find a Centre page
on citizensinformation.ie.