The Irish Revenue Commissioners has published Revenue eBrief No. 053/25 on the new e-linking process for Tax Agents & their customers.
What exactly does this mean for Tax Agents, and what are the positives and the negatives for Irish individuals, businesses & companies?
First & foremost, this change takes effect on the 25th of March, so in effect, it’s over a week away!
The reason for the change is mainly to enhance digital security.
Revenue has detailed the process for both the Tax Agent and the customer on the Revenue website.
The good news is that Revenue has stated that customers without a ROS (Revenue Online Services) or MyAccount registration will continue to be processed under the existing linking rules, i.e., upon submission of the link request by the agent with an attached and signed “Agent/Advisor link notification” form.
In my opinion, this only exists to transition to the e-linking process, which will eventually replace the manual process/existing rules.
In my experience, the existing manual process, although quick and easy, is not the most secure.
If you think about it, any Tax Agent with a TAIN number can apply for access to another individual, business, or company tax record just with a signature on a page. There is nothing to prove that this signature is the individual’s signature or not. Now, I hear you ask, “Why would a Tax Agent want or need to view an individual’s, business’s, or company’s tax record if not taking on the engagement?” You would be surprised.
The other issue is that registering the Tax Agent link to the customer can take up to 2 working days.
I imagine that this will be eliminated with e-linking, as the link will be activated in real-time. However, I stand to be corrected on this.
Of course, the nuisance with this is that not every individual, business, or company has registered with ROS or MyAccount. This will pose a real problem because, in order to complete the e-linking process, they will need to be registered with one/both of these services.
Customers without a ROS or MyAccount registration will continue to be processed under the existing linking rules, i.e., upon submission of the link request by the agent with an attached and signed “Agent/Advisor link notification” form.
How will e-linking work?
Well, there will be a dual approval process, where both the Tax Agent and individual, business, or company must separately approve the linking request. Tax Agents will initiate the process via ROS, and customers confirm the link through their own ROS or MyAccount accounts.
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