Revenue have published eBrief No. 11/08 to remind principal contractors that if errors had been discovered in the completion of the annual RCT35, where a payment was made gross and RCT should have been deducted, then they have an opportunity to self-regularise after the RCT35 deadline. This is being extended this year to 2 months instead of one - i.e. to 15 April 2008.

eBrief No. 11/08 is reproduced in Section 2.04.

New Form RCT1

eBrief No. 12/2008 introduced a new Form RCT1 for Principal and Subcontractors in the Construction, Meat Processing and Forestry Sectors. According to the eBrief, the new Form is significantly different from the current version.

The following, taken from the eBrief, are the main changes to Form RCT1

• Principals and subcontractors are instructed to read the “Code of Practice for Determining Employment or Self-Employment Status of Individuals” before completing the Form. In conjunction with this, the ‘Contract Details’ page of the Form contains specific questions relating to the work of the subcontractor on the contract. This should help both parties gain a clear indication of the nature of the contract.
• Both the principal and the subcontractor must sign the Form on the three pages. In signing the declaration on page 1, both parties are confirming that:
  1. The information they have provided is correct.
  2. They have read and understand the “Code of Practice for Determining Employment or Self- Employment Status of Individuals”.
  3. They have satisfied themselves that in their opinion, the contract they propose to enter into is not a contract of employment.
• It has four pages and includes notes on the tax obligations for resident and non-resident subcontractors.
• The subcontractor is obliged to provide specific information in relation to his/her registration for various taxes.
• A comparison of the entitlements and treatment of employees and self-employed individuals operating as subcontractors is provided.

The eBrief is reproduced at Section 2.05.

The new Form RCT1 is being introduced with effect from 1 April 2008 for new relevant contracts entered into by principals and subcontractors. Regulations have been made excluding a principal and subcontractor from the requirement to make an RCT1 declaration - Income Tax (Relevant Contracts) (Amendment) Regulations 2008. eBrief 17/2008 provides details on the new Regulations. According to the eBrief, the new regulations stem from a commitment by the Social Partners in Towards 2016 to strengthen the RCT system by revising the RCT1 declaration form and by putting in place new procedures to help ensure that workers are correctly classified as either employees or self-employed subcontractors.

In summary, contractors whose average annual sales arising from relevant operations exceeds €6.34m in the last three years (ending with the end of the last period of account ending prior to the date of application) can apply for exclusion from the RCT1 process on a Form RCT1-E. If the contractor qualifies, he/she will be issued with a ‘notice of exclusion’ which will be valid for a period of up to three years from the date of issue.

eBrief No. 16/2008 is reproduced at Section 2.06; and eBrief No. 17/2008 is reproduced at Section 2.07, with the Regulations reproduced at Section 2.08.