What your booking platform reports to Revenue, and how to make your return match

The list of fields, in plain terms

A platform operator reporting in Ireland must give Revenue, for every reportable seller:

• the total consideration paid or credited during each quarter of the reportable period;
• the number of activities that took place in each quarter;
• the financial account identifier, where the platform has it;
• where it differs from the seller's name, the name of the holder of the account the money went to, plus any other financial identification information the platform holds;
• each Member State or partner jurisdiction in which the seller is resident.

Two of those items deserve a second look. “Paid or credited” means an amount can be reported for a quarter in which it never reached your current account. And fees and commissions are reported as a separate figure, which means Revenue can see both the gross consideration and what the platform kept.

The mismatch to avoid

Three details make that reconciliation easier if you sort them out before the year ends.

• Check whose name is on the payout account. Where the account holder differs from the seller, the platform reports that too. Joint accounts, a spouse's account or an agent's client account all create a name that has to be explained.
• Keep the quarters. Because the report is quarterly, a year-end total alone will not resolve a query about a single quarter, particularly around a December to January boundary.

The small thresholds do not rescue property

Revenue publishes an excluded-seller threshold that people repeat hopefully: fewer than 30 sales and no more than €2,000 of consideration in the year. Revenue's own worked example of that threshold concerns the sale of goods, and the exclusions available to sellers are specific categories rather than a general small-trader let-off. Do not plan on the basis that a handful of summer bookings will keep you off the report. Assume you are on it, and make sure what it says matches what you file.

If you would like your platform statements reconciled before your next return, or you are working out how an Irish property should be held in the first place, send us the details. We study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.