Trinity College Dublin (TCD) has paid €77,000 to the Revenue Commissioners after an unprompted voluntary disclosure in relation to benefits in kind associated with staff accommodation provided by the college.
The payment, including interest of €6,000, is disclosed in the 2025 TCD annual report and also draws the attention of the Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy.
A report signed off by TCD provost Linda Doyle and board chairman Paul Farrell in the annual report shows that following a review of staff accommodation provided by Trinity between 2021 to 2025, “the University made an unprompted voluntary disclosure to the Revenue Commissioners in November 2025 in respect of an underpayment of payroll taxes”.
Doyle and Farrell state that the disclosure is awaiting finalisation.
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The note adds: “repayment plans are currently under review. Corrective measures have been implemented to ensure ongoing tax compliance”.
In his report on the issue, McCarthy said the university had recouped some of the tax underpaid from the individuals who availed of the accommodation.
A spokeswoman for TCD confirmed the unprompted disclosure concerns six members of staff. She said Doyle is not one of the individuals included in the disclosure.
A note attached to the accounts states that Doyle was paid €244,031 and, arising from university statutes, is required by the terms of her employment to live in Provost’s House at 1 Grafton Street.
Doyle resides at Provost’s House for her 10-year tenure and receives an additional taxable benefit for utilities incurred for personal use, according to the note.
Separately, Doyle and Farrell confirm that following a review of VAT compliance in a TCD subsidiary, an unprompted voluntary disclosure was made to Revenue in June 2024; €922,000 was paid to Revenue, including €178,000 interest and penalties of €21,000.
The tax liability arose from an over-recovery by the firm of input VAT on activities exempt from VAT.
The TCD spokeswoman today confirmed that the subsidiary is Trinity College Brand Commercial Services Limited (TBCSL), a unit devoted wholly to developing commercial activity at Trinity.
