What is the tax position if I take a contract overseas?

If you go overseas to work you will always have to take into account your potential tax liability in Ireland and the country where you are working according to OSK Contractor Accounting. You will need to establish whether or not you will remain resident for tax purposes in Ireland throughout the time that you are working overseas. Your residency status will determine whether or not you have income tax to pay in Ireland. There are various reliefs available including foreign earnings deduction; cross border relief; treaty relief; shift-year relief. Quite often you will be entitled to claim travelling and subsistence allowances. The whole area of working overseas, your residency status, and the reliefs available is very complex and specialist tax advice should always be obtained in advance of taking the overseas assignment. Contact Contractor Accountant today for more.  It is beyond the scope of this guide to cover these areas in detail. For more detailed information on this please view OSK International.

If you decide to purchase a company car the company will receive an invoice for the vehicle and all repayments will be made from the company. No VAT can be claimed back from the Revenue on the purchase of a passenger motor vehicle.

If the car is leased the lease interest will be tax deductible. If a loan is obtained to purchase the car the loan interest equally will be a tax deductible expense. As a car is considered a capital purchase you will be entitled to claim a capital allowance.

The company would be able to pay all the running costs of the car e.g. petrol, insurance, tax and servicing. If the car cost €24,000 or more there is a restriction on the amount that may be claimed by way of expenses. However, you will have to pay tax on the value of the benefit in kind as the car would be available for your private use.

One drawback of a company car is the fact that the company owns the car. If you decide to cease contracting in a few years you will have to purchase the car from the company for its then market value, otherwise you will be taxed on the value of the car as a benefit in kind