How to pay Preliminary Tax
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This article contains information on how to pay Preliminary Tax, what to do should there be no liability, the consequences of failing to pay the liability and the timeframe in which the returns should be made.

Preliminary Tax may be paid in any of the following ways:

• Bring the completed Bank Giro/Payslip attached to the Notice to any bank and use it to pay Preliminary Tax.
• Send the completed Bank Giro/Payslip with the payment to the Collector-General at the address given on the Notice.
• Pay by Direct Debit.

What should a Taxpayer do if they consider they have no tax to pay?
If for any Tax Year the taxpayer considers they are not going to have a tax liability, they should enter "NIL" on the Preliminary Tax Payslip and return it to the Collector-General. However, even if there is no income tax to pay, there may still be a liability for PRSI, Health Contributions and Employment and Training Levy, which are included in Preliminary Tax.

Failure to Pay Preliminary Tax
As mentioned earlier, the Self Assessment system gives greater control and responsibility over tax affairs. Anyone abusing it is subject to heavy penalties. Failure to pay Preliminary Tax, if there is a liability, will have the following consequences:

• If the Inspector has given a Notice of Preliminary Tax, the tax in the Notice will be pursued for collection using all the powers of the collection system including the powers of attachment contained in the Finance Act, 1988.
• There is a liability to pay interest at 1.25% per month from 1 November in the year in which the Preliminary Tax was due, until it is paid.

When must Tax Returns be made?
Under the Self Assessment system, there is a legal duty to make a Tax Return every year. While the Inspector of Taxes will issue Tax Returns for all chargeable persons on the Revenue Commissioners' records who are considered to be liable to pay tax, it is ultimately the taxpayer's responsibility to see to it that they obtain, complete and return their Tax Return to the Inspector on time. Tax Returns must be returned to the Inspector at the latest by the 31st of October following the year of assessment.

However, it is advisable that the Tax Return be submitted as soon as possible after the end of the tax year. The earlier the Tax Return is submitted, the sooner the final liability for the tax year will be known - this can be important when it comes to paying Preliminary Tax for the following year.

While there is no obligation to do so, taxpayers can calculate their liability to tax when completing their Tax Return by filling in the voluntary self-assessment facility (VSA) on the return.