SubContractor Relevant Contracts Tax

Relevant Contract Tax

“RCT” is a withholding tax system that operates in the Construction sector. RCT applies to all construction operations carried out in the State.

Definitions & General Rule of Thumb

Construction operations include but are not limited to:

Construction, alteration, repair, extension, etc. of
buildings or structures, or any element which is part of the fabric of the building/structure;
any works forming part of the land, e.g. walls, roadworks, pipelines, water mains, wells, etc.,
The installation, alteration or repair in any building or structure of systems of heating, lighting, power supply, drainage, water supply etc.
Operations which form an integral part of or are preparatory to, or are for rendering complete the above operations, e.g. site clearance, excavation, tunnelling and boring, laying of foundations, erection of scaffolding, site restoration, landscaping etc.,
The haulage for hire of materials, machinery or plant for use in any of the above construction operations.

Structure ‐Large items set in place on a permanent /semi‐ permanent basis e.g. walls, gates, traffic lights, road signs, water meters, parking meters and garden sheds.

Dirty Work – physical / manual labour by the contractor. It excludes monitoring / inspection / supervisory / testing.

Maintenance – General rule of thumb – Maintenance will include some element of repair. Repair includes the replacement of constituent parts e.g. repair a window by installing a new pane of glass, replace some broken tiles in a tiled floor. It does not include routine maintenance.

VAT should not be charged on the invoice. All Contract invoices must have the statement “VAT on this supply to be accounted for by the principal contractor.” Additionally, all invoices must have a VAT number printed on them.

More information on Relevant Contracts Tax is available on the Revenue website