Businesses are being advised they must ensure their tax affairs are in order and that they have registered with Revenue if they want to take part in the Government's new Stay and Spend Scheme when it starts on October 1.
The scheme aims to incentivise people to holiday at home and spend money in local tourism and hospitality businesses by giving them a tax credit based on what they spend.
According to Chartered Accountants Ireland, firms taking part must be VAT registered and have a valid tax clearance certificate before they can register with Revenue.
Businesses which also provide accommodation must also be registered or listed with Fáilte Ireland.
"We have seen considerable praise for the UK government’s Eat Out to Help Out discount which ended this week, with calls for its extension," said Norah Collender, Professional Tax Leader, Chartered Accountants Ireland.
"It’s our hope that the Irish scheme will similarly help to deliver some relief to a severely affected hospitality sector."
"It’s critical that businesses avoid any unnecessary delays in accessing this support. To hit the ground running from October 1, we recommend that they move now to ensure their tax affairs are in order and register with Revenue as soon as possible."
The scheme, announced by the Government in the July Stimulus Plan, is now open for registration and is expected to be officially launched soon.
This credit will give taxpayers a rebate of up to €125 for a single person or €250 for a married couple when the taxpayer spends over €625 (or €1,250 for married couples) on accommodation, food and non-alcoholic drinks between 1st October 2020 and April 2021.
Firms that have registered will receive marketing and promotional material for their premises and online to alert customers.
Revenue will also host a list of registered businesses on its website that can be filtered by service, premises type and county.
