Revenue's Debt Warehousing Scheme: Tax debt lowered, but concerns remain
On 9 May 2024 the Revenue Commissioners (the “Revenue”) provided an update on the Debt Warehousing Scheme. The Revenue had set a deadline of 1 May 2024 for all tax liabilities in the debt warehouse to be either paid or included in a phased payment arrangement.
There has been a significant reduction in the amount of taxes in the debt warehouse, going from €1.65 billion at the start of April to €200 million following the deadline. There now remain 11,724 businesses with unpaid taxes in the debt warehouse, broken down as follows:
| No. of businesses | Range of liability |
| 7,279 | Between €500 & €5,000 |
| 3,670 | Between €5,001 & €50,000 |
| 775 | In excess of €50,000 |
Revenue has issued the demand notices to these 11,724 businesses requesting that they engage with Revenue within the next seven days. Noncompliance with Revenue within seven days will result in a final demand being issued and the liability being subject to standard enforcement proceedings. This also means that the 0% interest rate and flexible payment options will no longer be available.
Revenue is aware that some businesses contacted Revenue in the last month, but did not submit a formal phased payment proposal. If these businesses submit a proposal before next Wednesday (15 May) the terms of the debt warehouse scheme, including the 0% interest, will be applied to that payment plan.
While significant progress has been made concerning the taxes in the debt warehousing scheme, over 4,400 businesses still owe in excess of €5,000 to the Revenue for warehoused taxes.
If you are one of these businesses and haven’t been able to meet the 1 May timeline for a phased payment arrangement, or you are worried about the impact an agreed debt warehouse phased payment arrangement will have on your business, talk to us today to establish where you currently are in the sequence of steps to consider.
