We want to provide a quick update on a recent communication from the Revenue Commissioners which offers guidance on how interest from peer-to-peer lending should be treated for tax purposes.

We feel that this guidance puts an unacceptable administrative burden on Irish SME’s. As such, we have entered into a discussion with the Department of Finance, on behalf of our borrowers, in order to agree a simpler way of ensuring any tax obligations are met.

We have shared our view with the Department that all P2P loans should be exempt from withholding tax, and we are seeking an amendment to existing legislation to give P2P lending a specific exemption similar to the approach taken in the UK market.

In the meantime, we would advise lenders and borrowers to continue using the platform as normal.

We will post an updated blog, or contact our borrowers and lenders directly, when we have further information, but if you have specific queries in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us at help@linkedfinance.com