Taxback.com has linked with AIB and Bank of Ireland to bring its service to 30,000 Irish people who work abroad each year, writes Laura Slattery

Irish people who have worked overseas at any time since 2000 can now receive a refund on any foreign income tax they have paid within 14 days under a new refund service.

Taxback.com, the Dublin-based international tax refund company, has announced a partnership with AIB and Bank of Ireland that allows up to 30,000 Irish people who work abroad annually to receive their refunds as soon as they arrive home.

Returning backpackers and other overseas workers who contact Taxback.com via its website or by telephoning 1800 668 866 will receive an estimate of the refund they are due.

The customer then shows this form either to AIB or Bank of Ireland, which will issue the refund, less the average 12.5 per cent cut that Taxback.com receives for its service. The cut varies depending on the country in which the person worked. It is 10 per cent in cases where people worked in the US.

Up to now, most people have had to wait until the end of the tax year in the country they worked in before they received their refund.

Only students could obtain their tax refund upfront through an interest-free advance from the two banks.

Very few people are aware they are entitled to claim back some of the income tax they pay while working abroad, according to Taxback.com, which was formerly known as European Student Services.

It is possible in many cases for consumers to seek their own refunds. But, according to Taxback.com, people either misplace the necessary documents or do not have the time to apply to international tax offices, and as a consequence leave an average of €400-€500 behind overseas.

If returning workers have lost documentation from previous employers, Taxback.com will seek replacements on their behalf.

The Irish company, which has offices in 18 countries worldwide, has also secured the right to organise refunds of superannuation payments for Irish backpackers who have worked in Australia since 1980. Superannuation is the name given to the compulsory pension contribution that Australian employers must pay to the government on behalf of employees.

The payment amounts to at least 9 per cent of an employee's salary and the resulting pension fund cannot be accessed until the worker is 55 years old.

Most Irish people working in Australia do not know that this payment is being made on their behalf, said Mr Barry Dowling, marketing director for Taxback.com.

Up until June 2003 it was impossible for them to get it back.

Irish people who travel to Australia on a one-year working holiday visa are only permitted to work for an employer for a maximum of three months.

As a result of frequent employment changes, the average working holidaymaker will have paid superannuation into three funds, each worth only a few hundred Australian dollars.

Small funds are not cost-efficient to manage, according to Mr Dowling, so the Australian government is encouraging refunds.

The Australian government holds on to 30 per cent and fund managers take an average per cent slice as an exit fee, so Irish workers will receive roughly half of the money that was paid by their employers on their behalf.

"Despite the fact that they're going to lose half of it, it's still a lot of money out there they don't know about," Mr Dowling said.

Taxback.com can also obtain tax refunds for people who have worked in the UK, Germany, Holland, Spain, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria.