Dominic Coyle answers your personal finance questions

Card duty

I was looking at changing credit cards but was waiting until after the Budget in the hopes that the Minister would change the rules which at the moment mean I will have to pay stamp duty again. I saw no mention of the issue in the Budget coverage? Have I missed it or did he not say anything? Ms B.C., Dublin.

You've not missed anything. The unfortunate truth is that the Minister said nothing about the stamp duty on bank cards in his Budget speech and the issue is not mentioned in the associated Budget documents either.

The silence is even more strange in the light of this week's focus by the Central Bank and the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority on how consumers are losing out in their dealings with the financial services sector.

Although the Government is encouraging people to search for value and force the sector to become more competitive, the tax system is penalising those same customers for doing so.

As it stands, you pay stamp duty on all credit card accounts and all Laser and ATM cards you hold on April 1st of any given year (another anomaly of timing that sits uncomfortably with the concerted move of the tax year to a calendar-year basis). However, as you have found out, if you change card mid-year, you get hit with a full stamp duty charge on the new card(s).

Ironically, it is one of the few issues in the financial services sector where both the customer and the institutions (the banks) are on the same side, although, not surprisingly, the banks are seeking far more radical moves on the issue of the imposition of bank card duty.

All is not quite lost yet, as it is not unknown for the Minister to tinker with such matters in the Finance Bill when it is published, or to take amendments on certain matters as the Bill passes through the Oireachtas on the way to becoming the Finance Act, which finally implements the provisions of Budget 2004.

Having said that, there are no mutterings of such action being in the offing on the matter of stamp duty on bank cards. Perhaps the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, who has been exhorting us all to keep an eye on prices will have a word in the Minister's ear but I wouldn't bet on it.

Rent tax relief

May I ask what possibilities, if any, exist to offset rent against income? Specifically, if, as part of Government decentralisation, I let out my house in Dublin, paid tax on this and rented a house somewhere else, what, if any, tax reliefs are available? Mr P.D., email

There are a couple of things here. First off, there is rent relief available to people who occupy private rented accommodation as their sole or main residence.

In the current tax year, this amounts to a maximum of €254 for a single person and €508 for a married couple or someone who is widowed. For people over 55, the relief rises to €508 and €1,016 respectively. This is based on a relief at 20 per cent on rental up to €1,270 for a single person under 55, and €2,540 for a married couple/widowed person of that age. Over 55, the single threshold is €2,540 and €5,080.

Of course, the Revenue may well argue that if you have a property that you are renting, you would not be entitled, but I think you will find that, if decentralisation happens, there will be some leeway in these areas. As far as relief on your rental income, that depends on whether the rented property falls under one of the special property reliefs, and that is unlikely in the case of Dublin properties.

Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail to dcoyle@irish-times.ie. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice. Due to the volume of mail, there may be a delay in answering queries. All suitable queries will be answered through the columns of the newspaper. No personal correspondence will be entered into.