You are not alone. Nobody enjoys paperwork, not all of us have our receipts stored neatly from last year (searching will be required) and many of us find claiming our tax back a bit daunting. However, it is money you are entitled to, and when you calculate it you might find they can be the best paid two hours of work you’ll do all year.

1 Personal Tax Credits

Self-employed farmers work with their accountants when submitting their annual tax returns. As all incomings and outgoings are calculated on this, you don’t need to worry about claiming your individual tax credits as your accountant will sort this for you.

If you are a PAYE worker, however, you are going to have to do this work yourself. Going about this is actually pretty straightforward.

The first thing you need to do is get your P60 from your employer, which is issued in most companies by the end of January. Then log onto Revenue’s PAYE Anytime service on www.revenue.ie and set up an account.

Once this is done, request a balancing statement called a P21. If you opt to do all this online, you should receive your P21 within four to five working days. This will allow you to see if you have overpaid tax and submit your bank account details for a refund. However, be aware that if you have underpaid your taxes, you will owe this back to Revenue. You can claim back for the last four years, so this could result in a bit of a windfall to start off 2017.

How to apply? Log onto www.revenue.ie or contact your local Revenue office on the LoCall numbers listed.

2 Medical Expenses Relief

When it comes to claiming back for medical expenses, you might be thinking that an odd GP visit or dental appointment won’t amount to much. However, there is a plethora of expenses that are eligible for tax relief, so start thinking about what you actually spent your money on last year.

Hearing aids, physiotherapy, ambulance trips, X-rays, eye surgery as well as fertility and maternity services are all included. You can also claim back for prescription medicines. Non-routine dental expenses can also be claimed for, but note that you will have to obtain a separate form called a MED 2, which needs to be signed by your dentist.

This is all claimed at the standard rate of tax (20%). For example, if you spent €1,000 on your medical expenses in 2016, you will receive €200. It’s also worth noting that you can claim for you, your spouse or any other person you claim tax allowances for.

How to apply? Fill out the form MED 1 on www.revenue.ie or contact your regional LoCall number.

3 Medical Insurance Premiums

Needless to say, if some of your medical costs have been paid in full by your health insurance company you cannot be reimbursed. However, did you know you can get tax relief on your health insurance premium? Unfortunately, if you pay for your health insurance policy yourself, this tax relief has already been deducted for you, which means you won’t be getting anything back. However, if your medical insurance premium is paid as a benefit-in-kind by your employer, then you should notify your local Revenue Office to receive your tax relief in the form of tax credits.

Remember that if you do have a health insurance policy, it might also be time to start gathering those receipts. Over 70% of people renew their policy in the first three months of the year, but many insurance companies require you to submit your claims within three months of your policy year ending. So, for example, if your new policy started on 1 January 2017, you only have until 31 March to submit your receipts from 2016. If you haven’t got a clue where any receipts are, contact your GP and ask for a statement of your visits for the year. Unfortunately, some GPs charge for this service (which is a bit much if you ask us). However, if they do, it could still be worth your while. Consider that some VHI policies refund up to €40 for one GP visit.

How to apply? Download a claim form from your provider’s website.

Listen to more advice from Ciara in our podcast below:

Listen to "How to claim tax back" on Spreaker.

4 Tuition Fees

College fees can be a massive impact on the annual outgoings of the family budget, especially if you’ve a few children studying. However, you can claim tax relief on tuition fees paid, provided the course and provider are approved – which all the main colleges are. As this can be claimed for the last four years, it still applies to people who studied as far back as 2013. Note though that if you are claiming for a full-time student, there is no tax relief on the first €3,000 of all tuition fees from 2015. The same is true of part-time students, although the cap is €1,500.

Now this is a real top tip. If you have more than one child going to college, you can claim full tax relief on the student contribution fees for the second or any subsequent students. However, there is no specification that this has to be your own child.

In fact, they don’t even have to be related. We have found that some families are paying the student contribution for two students (ie their own child and a niece or nephew perhaps). Then the following year, the other family will pay. That way both families are availing of this tax relief, just in different years.

How to apply? Complete an application form on www.revenue.ie

5 Claim back

You can claim back the following: one-parent family credit, widowed parent credit, special age credits (for over 65s), home carer’s credit, incapacitated child credit/allowance, dependent relative credit, relief for long-term unemployment, loan interest relief, pension contributions, investment relief and nursing home fees.