Self-employed people have been warned to ensure they have paid their property tax if they are to avoid penalties when submitting a tax return.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)warned that specific issues around property tax can result in payment disparities of up to €2,000.
A self-employed worker who files their annual tax return without having paid their local property tax (LPT) faces a 10pc penalty to their tax liability.
This means a €215 property tax mis-charge for the self-employed could result in a penalty of up to €2,000.
Feedback from 11,000 Irish members has prompted the governing body of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants to issue the warning to the self-employed.
Technical director of ACCA Aidan Clifford said many self-employed workers were unaware of the consequences of not paying the property tax correctly.
"Self-employed people need to ensure they have their tax affairs in order, particularly with LPT.
"As it stands, even if self-employed workers move to immediately resolve the unpaid LPT, the penalty applied to the tax return may only be reduced, meaning the taxpayer in that circumstance can still end up paying three times the value of the original LPT charge."
Self-assessed taxpayers have until October 31 to pay their taxes, or risk a late-payment penalty and interest. If you file your tax return and pay tax online through the ROS system, the deadline is extended till November 12.
