Making more money is a necessity for many at the moment with the increased cost of living.
hile you might not be able to move to a higher-earning job, how about taking on an extra one?
Here are some easy ways to boost your income. Who knows, it may change your life!
Rent a room
Revenue allows generous tax-free income to anybody renting out a room in their home. You can earn up to €14,000 per annum tax free by taking a lodger. A student for an academic year in digs is included in the scheme, but short-term lettings such as Airbnb are not. You are not required to register with the Residential Tenancies Board and can set down any ground rules you like. The only proviso is that you must live in the house and the accommodation is ‘attached’ or within the residence. See revenue.ie for details.
Sell your stuff
Summer is a great time to clear-out attics and wardrobes. Charity shops are chock-a-block post-Covid, but there’s less reluctance in the online marketplaces. If you’ve never sold furniture, bikes or clothes on eBay, Donedeal or Depop, why not give it a go? It’s more sustainable, and you control the deal.
Depop takes 10pc of your sales; eBay varies, but it’s around the same. Good photos and descriptions are key to getting seen. For kids clothing, it makes even more sense as they grow out of everything so quickly. Try prelovedressing.ie, flopsyshop.ie or shopify.ie but don’t get tempted into buying a load of stuff while you’re on it!
Join the movies
MovieExtras.ie charges around €89.95 to join their list of extras for clients like RTE, which includes training and photos, but guarantees you’ll get work, or your money back.
TheExtrasDept.com is Belfast based, and accepts work for anybody on the island of Ireland. Pay rates vary but the company deducts 15pc commission from daily rates (20pc on rates of €450) and an annual registration fee of €35.
The Locations Guild of Ireland scouts properties to use in movies, ads and shows. You can earn hundreds of euros a day to allow filming in your home if it’s deemed suitable.
Claim back taxes
Remote Working Relief (RWR) set up mid-pandemic to help those working from home has been claimed, it is estimated, by just one in 10 eligible workers. RWR is 30pc of your electricity, heating and internet costs for 2022, now higher than ever. Other rebates are available for medical expenses (20pc refund on anything which insurance doesn’t cover), flat-rate expenses for essential workwear and tools and a Home Carer’s Tax Credit of €1,600 to a worker with a stay-at-home spouse.
Start a podcast
Have something interesting to say? Are you an expert in your field? If so, why not make a podcast? Melanie Boylan and Esther Ocampo started the Monday Morning Marketing Podcast in January 2020 and after a few months got a paid sponsorship from AgoraPulse.
They have since run a paid online workshop and have plans to host another. Other plans in the making include merchandise as the listenership grows.
Foreign students
Taking in a Spanish or French student is popular in the summer, but there’s all-year round demand for adults too.
Brexit has caused increased difficulty for EU companies to place workers they want to immerse in English with UK families, and we’re the only other English-speaking country on the continent.
You can expect to earn around €150-€300 a week, but it depends on the age and dependency of the guest. See irishconnection.ie, ef-ireland.ie, isaccommodation.com or ask at your local language school.
Get paid for your opinion
Focus groups are big marketing news for companies. By completing surveys online you can earn around €3 a time with agencies like surveycompare.net, acumenpanel.ie, YouGov.com, opinionpioneer.com or swagbucks.com. Get paid in cash, vouchers or gifts for participating. Avoid any that make you pay to join.
Become a transcriber
Laptop, headset, typing skills? You can earn a couple of hundred euro a month by transcribing audio from meetings into readable format or captions. You work your own hours and can expect to undergo a test before you’re taken on (there are YouTube tutorials). You may be asked for photo ID, as some corporate-sensitive data may be involved in your transcription. QA World (qa-world.com) pays 20c per audio minute. TranscribeMe.com pays $15-20 per audio hour, both via Paypal.
Dog-walking
With all the pooches bought in lockdown, many owners are now returning to the office so doggy daycare is big business. You can earn around €12-€15 an hour as a dog-walker. Sites like mindme.ie, petsittersireland.com and indeed.ie are good for hiring and information. Patience and fitness are required.
Tax treatment of a side-line business
Gerry Scully of Tax Return Plus says any profits from side-line work is taxable and you are obliged to complete a tax return.
However, if the additional income you earn is less than €5,000 per annum, you can do this by completing a Form 12 (the normal PAYE return). This is done online, via your GovID account.
Any earnings over that amount, and you have to file a separate ‘Form 11’, typically used by self-employed people. It’s not really all that different, but the income is effectively separated out as a business. You can employ an accountant to do this for you, whose fee is a deductible expense.
“It’s worth noting that additional non-PAYE income is added to PAYE income and taxed at the relevant rate,” he says. This could pose a problem if you are on the cusp of thresholds. The 20pc band for a single person is €36,800 (including all income), and anything above that is taxed at 40pc.
“For example, if a PAYE worker earning €36,800 decided to set up a side-line business, generating a profit of €3,000 then they’re liable to 40pc income tax, plus PRSI (4pc) and USC (4.5pc), a total of 48.5pc.”
Allowable expenses
Mr Scully adds: “Side hustles have allowable expenses as long as they are ‘wholly and exclusively’ related to the trade.” This might include set-up costs, advertising, professional fees, training and development and public liability insurance.
Not filing a tax return is an offence so it’s a good idea to do so from the outset.
