Revenue Job Assist

Information

Revenue Job Assist is an additional tax allowance for people who have been unemployed for 12 months or more and who are now returning to employment. The scheme is an alternative to other employment schemes, such as the Back to Work Allowance. In other words, you cannot avail of both options. An extra tax allowance can be claimed for each qualifying child (see below). The tax allowance can be claimed for 3 tax years and may begin with either the tax year in which the employment commences or the following tax year.

Rules

You may qualify for Revenue Job Assist if you are:

• Getting Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance for 1 year or more
• A lone parent on the One-Parent Family Payment
• Getting Disability Allowance or Blind Person's Pension for 12 months or more
• Getting Invalidity Pension for 12 months or Illness Benefit for 3 years or more (with effect from 1 January 2006)
• Released after 12 months or more in prison.

The job you are taking up must:

• Be for a minimum of 30 hours a week
• Be capable of lasting at least 12 months.

There is an explanatory leaflet on Revenue Job Assist (pdf).

Revenue Job Assist only applies if you are taking up a job and does not apply if you are becoming self-employed. It can only be set against income from the new job that you have taken up. You can change jobs once and retain the balance of the credit. The tax allowance can be claimed irrespective of your marital status.

Qualifying child

A qualifying child is a child of yours who is:

• Under 16 years of age or
• Over 16 years and in full-time education or training as an apprentice where the training is for at least 2 years or
• Incapacitated either physically or mentally, having become so either while undergoing full-time education or while under 21 years of age.

Two people can claim for the same child but only one allowance can be claimed for each qualifying child in any year. If 2 people are entitled to claim for the same child, the allowance is split between them as follows:

• Where the child is maintained by 1 person only, that person gets the allowance
• Where the child is maintained jointly by 1 or more people, the credit is split either in the same proportion as they each maintain the child or in a manner they jointly decide on.

Keeping secondary benefits

In addition to the special tax allowance, under Revenue Job Assist, you can keep your medical card for 3 years from the date of return to work. You can also retain other secondary benefits, such as Fuel Allowance, for 3 years, provided your weekly income is less than €317.43. However the amount of Rent Supplement you get may be reduced.

Employer’s tax deduction

Employers who employ people who qualify for Revenue Job Assist can make a double deduction of the employee's income from their company's taxable income for up to 3 years provided that the employee remains with them.

Rates

The Revenue Job Assist allowances are at your highest rate of tax and appear as an increase to your tax credits as follows:

How to apply

Complete Part 1 of form RJA1 at the end of the Revenue leaflet IT58 (pdf). This form is also available from your local tax office.

Where to apply

Contact your local tax office.