Tax returns: Pensioner received a notice to pay €9,800 and turned it into a tax refund

A retiree was informed that his tax return (as he had chosen) had automatically been filed and that he would have to pay income tax of €9,809, an amount apparently not attributable to his income. What had happened? Because of purchases he made last year he got caught in the tax pinch, he left the pre-filled return to be filed and when he saw the statement he couldn’t believe his eyes.

He then sought the help of accountant who relied on the consumption of capital. With this move and along with some other corrections to the entries (expenditure limit made with electronic receipts) he managed to get a tax refund of 53 euros, which he was normally entitled to.

This is one of many examples of unfair taxation seen these days on many tax returns that were automatically filed and now taxpayers or their accountants are scrambling to correct them. And many times they are being asked to file amended returns anyway because newer information has come in to the IRS about taxpayers (interest allowances, etc.)

The Independent Public Revenue Authority (ADEA) had invited taxpayers who had been selected for the automatic process to check the content of their pre-filled returns, making the required corrections if they did not agree with any of the pre-filled information. Apparently not everyone did so. And those who got “burned” are running to make amendments.

If correction or completion of automatically filed returns is required, taxpayers have until 7/26 (the deadline for filing returns) to file an amended return without penalty.

The Panhellenic Federation of Freelance Tax Professionals lists a number of problems with so-called automatic tax returns.

As it claims, in a statement :

– In house clearance returns, there was a problem in Schedule 8, where principal residences for which a Power Pass had been taken in 2022 were incorrectly posted, with no possibility of deletion or correction.

– If the parent’s return was automatically filed and the dependent child had income in the year 2023, the child cannot file a Tax Return because it is blocked by the parent’s already filed return. The parent’s return is not subject to amendment. As a result, the child’s return cannot be filed because one return blocks the other.

– Pre-completed tax returns were submitted where not all codes were completed.

– Pre-completed tax returns were filed where cars were missing.

– Pre-completed tax returns were submitted where the system incorrectly transferred main residences from last year.

– Pre-completed tax returns were submitted where the system incorrectly carried over rent payments from last year.

– Pre-completed tax returns were submitted where in many cases disabilities were not included.

– Pre-completed tax returns were filed where in no case were purchases of real estate and automobiles included if they were made in 2023. There are reports that there is no indication in code 023 for the exemption from electronic collection of expense receipts.

Problems with IBAN as well.

If there was no registered IBAN on a taxpayer, the tax return could not be filed. But in the case of in-house clearances, the returns were automatically submitted without a registered IBAN. Since errors and omissions were found, the amended tax return, cannot be submitted for these cases if no IBAN has been registered. And the problem is that banks give appointments to…August for IBAN issuance.

For its part, the ADEA notes that this year “pre-clearance of returns was applied for the first time for 1.4 million taxpayers. Until last year, all taxpayers, whether their information was correct or not, were required to file returns themselves. This year, we have given 1.4 million taxpayers the opportunity to see the tax due with the data we have available for them and, if they see that this data is correct and complete, to not submit their return themselves, while having the opportunity to amend it by 26/7, without penalty.”

According to the AADE, with this procedure “423,000 declarations were finalized, i.e. about 30% of the pre-cleared declarations, a result that constitutes a positive development.”

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