Home Renovation Incentive Scheme

What is the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) Scheme?

The Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) Scheme provides for tax relief for Homeowners and Landlords by way of an Income Tax credit at 13.5% of qualifying expenditure on repair, renovation or improvement works carried out on a main home or rental property by qualifying Contractors.

The amount of the HRI tax credit depends on the amount spent on qualifying works. Tax relief can be claimed on qualifying expenditure over €4,405 (before VAT at 13.5%) per property. This €4,405 (before VAT) can be the total from any number of jobs carried out and paid for from 25 October 2013 to 31 December 2016 for Homeowners claiming on their main home and on or after 15 October 2014 and up to 31 December 2016 for Landlords claiming on their rental property. While there is no upper limit on expenditure on qualifying works, the tax credit will only be given in relation to a maximum of €30,000 (before VAT at 13.5%) per property.

If a Homeowner or Landlord is having qualifying work done but isn’t spending over €4,405 (before VAT) on the property, it’s still worth choosing a HRI qualifying Contractor and having the work details entered on HRI online. The Homeowner or Landlord may have more qualifying work carried out on the property between now and 31 December 2016. All the spending on the property, added up, could reach the €4,405 (before VAT). It will be very difficult to go back to a Contractor, to try to get him or her to enter details to HRI online, for a job from a year or more ago.

In addition, if a Homeowner or Landlord is using a HRI qualifying Contractor, the Homeowner or Landlord can at least be sure that the Contractor is tax compliant.

If there are no grants or insurance claims, the lowest tax credit amount is €595 (€4,405 at 13.5%) per property and the highest tax credit is €4,050 (€30,000 at 13.5%) per property.

Who can claim a tax credit under the Incentive?

Owner occupiers of a main home or Landlords of rental properties who pay Income Tax under PAYE or self assessment and whose Local Property Tax and Household Charge obligations are up to date, are eligible. The Homeowner or Landlord must be on Revenue’s Local Property Tax Register as an Owner or joint Owner of the main home or rental property. Landlords must also have registered the tenancy with the Private Residential Tenancies Board.

If I’m on a Pension can I claim the tax credit?
If you are on an occupational pension and you pay tax under PAYE, you can claim.

The tax credit is only available to the owner occupier of a main home or the owner of a rental property.