Revenue confirmed to us that there has been that no changes will be implemented until 1 January 2020.

We have received the following update from Revenue following our enquiry –

“There has been a recent update in relation to Revenue’s review of the concessionary flat rate expenses regime. Revenue’s review of the flat rate expense regime is on-going and it is intended to have the review completed by the end of 2019. With this in mind and in the interest of fairness to all sectors and employees currently benefitting from the regime, Revenue has decided that the effective date for implementation of any changes to particular FRE categories will be deferred until 1 January 2020, when the review of all the flat rate expenses operating in the various employment categories is completed.”

The Institute’s position on this matter is that the flat rate expenses regime is neither a giveaway nor a concession. It reflects the reality of the situation of workers while reducing the correspondence associated with making claims. The removal of the fixed rate expenses for any particular category of employees will generate the kind of administrative difficulty the system was designed to avoid.