Thousands submit tax returns under revamped system

Taxpayers can now pay any tax arrears online after submitting their returns electronically, tax inspector Soteris Markidis said on Saturday after 11,500 individuals submitted their declarations for 2022.

As of Friday, some 16,000 had accessed the “Declaration of Income of Individuals without Accounts” for last year on the Taxisnet portal, of whom, 11,500 submitted their final declarations while the remaining 4,500 are still processing them, Markidis told CNA. The system opened on July 15.

In relation to a new service that has been added in the 2022 returns, the tax Inspector said that a link appears after the declaration has been submitted that guides the taxpayer to the immediate payment of any arrears.

Next to the amount of tax owed there is the option to go either to internet banking where payment is made through the accounts chosen by each taxpayer or to JCC Smart, where without the use of additional codes the payment can be completed using the credit or a debit card.

According to Markidis, taxpayers who already previously registered with the online tax submission system Taxisnet will use the same passwords for the tax portal.

He also apologised to taxpayers for the delay in posting the Personal Income Declaration in the Taxisnet system, explaining this was due to the approval of the relevant legislation on June 30.

Because of this, the deadline for filing returns has been extended to October 2 this year from July 31.

Markides said that useful information material on completing and submitting returns has been posted on the Department of Taxation’s website www.mof.gov.cy/tax under the “2022 Individual Income Return” icon.

The material includes a guide to completing the declaration, a guide to paying outstanding income tax, examples and comparative tables for implementing the new provisions of the legislation on first employment applicable from the year 2022, as well as useful instructions for registering in the Taxisnet system and contact numbers.

“The 2022 return retains all the automations that have been introduced in recent years for faster and easier completion by taxpayers,” he said.

According to a cabinet decree, employees, pensioners and self-employed persons whose gross total income for the tax year 2022 exceeds €19,500 are obliged to submit a Personal Income Declaration for the tax year 2022.