Thank you to Amicus: Search and Recruitment for Sponsoring this episode. To find your next Finance or Accounting Role, head to https://amicus.ie/ and tell them that we sent you!

In this week’s episode, I’m having a proper look through the June 2025 Examiner’s Report for the Advanced Tax exam. I know it might sound a bit dry, but honestly, I love these — they tell you exactly what the examiner was thinking, what went well, and where people fell down. It’s a bit like getting a peek behind the curtain before your own sitting.

We go question by question, talking through the examiner’s main points, from ethics and reconstructions to capital taxes, CAT reliefs, residency and consortiums. I’ll flag the areas that caught people out, like missing recommendations, not knowing all the conditions for reliefs or forgetting to show commercial sense. There are some handy little reminders too, about using your skepticism mark and spotting when something doesn’t quite add up.

If you want to know what separates a pass from a strong result, this one’s worth your coffee break.

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• ACCA ATX IRL Examiner's Report for June 2025
• ACCA ATX Examiner's Reports Portal
• "Ep040 Ethics"

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Thank you for listening to Study For Tax in your Coffee Break! If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review on your Podcast platform and share it with others to let them know you enjoyed the podcast.

To improve your study for the ACCA ATX Exams this year, head to Paula Byrne's website to purchase the ACCA ATX IRL Revision Book for Exams in 2025 and Tax Conditions - the Spoken Word for audio-based revision.

Thank you to Matthew Bliss for editing and production of this episode. If you'd like him to edit your podcast, send an email to business@mbpod.com or head to https://www.mbpod.com/.

Thank you to Amicus: Search and Recruitment for Sponsoring this episode. To find your next Finance or Accounting Role, head to https://amicus.ie/ and tell them that we sent you!

In this episode, I’m tackling one of the examiner’s favourite topics: Pensions. While you won’t see them coming up as a full 20-mark question, they appear often enough and can carry a sizeable number of marks. That means they’re well worth your time to understand.

I walk you through the examinable areas around both pension investment and withdrawal, explaining the tax treatment, the limits you need to remember, and the pitfalls to watch for in exam questions.

Main Topics Discussed:

• The difference between personal pensions and occupational pensions – and why it matters in exam questions.
• How tax relief works on personal contributions, including the age-related percentage table and the €115,000 cap.
• Why employer contributions to occupational pensions are so tax efficient – and how this could influence the incorporation decision for high earners.
• What happens on pension withdrawal: lump sums, ARFs, and annuities, plus how they’re taxed.
• How to spot the pension type you’re being asked about and where to find the key tables in your tax tables booklet.

If you’re preparing for ATX, pensions are a topic you really can’t afford to ignore. I’ll help you cut through the detail so you can answer with confidence on exam day.

Thank you for listening to Study For Tax in your Coffee Break! If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review on your Podcast platform and share it with others to let them know you enjoyed the podcast.

To improve your study for the ACCA ATX Exams this year, head to Paula Byrne's website to purchase the ACCA ATX IRL Revision Book for Exams in 2025 and Tax Conditions - the Spoken Word for audio-based revision.

Thank you to Matthew Bliss for editing and production of this episode. If you'd like him to edit your podcast, send an email to business@mbpod.com or head to https://www.mbpod.com/.

Thank you to Amicus: Search and Recruitment for Sponsoring this episode. To find your next Finance or Accounting Role, head to https://amicus.ie/ and tell them that we sent you!

This is a replay of a previous episode in the feed. We will be back to normal broadcast next in September 2025.

In this episode, Paula talks about the different tax considerations related to Share Buybacks for companies, and the reliefs available when a company deftly manages whether CGT or Income Tax is required in each scenario.

Topics Covered:

Overview of Share Buyback

• General explanation of share buyback.
• Context in exams - a case study where a company buys back shares.

Income Tax vs. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Treatment

• Default treatment as an income tax event under schedule F.
• Preferable treatment as a CGT event and why (lower tax rate at 33%, CGT reliefs).

Conditions for CGT Treatment

• The company must be a trading company or a holding company of a subsidiary.
• Shares must be in an unquoted company.
• Shares must have been held for five years by an Irish resident individual.
• Redemption must be for the benefit of trade.
• Substantial reduction in the shareholder's interest (25% reduction, shares 30% or less post-redemption).

Examiner's Indicators

• Recognizing share buyback questions in exam cases (e.g., shareholders not getting along, detrimental to the company).

Tax Reliefs for Qualifying Shareholders

• Entrepreneurial relief and retirement relief.
• Potential to pay no tax on share buyback.

Treatment for Non-Qualifying Shareholders

• Taxed under schedule F.
• Tax calculation: agreed buyback price minus nominal value of shares.
• Rate of tax at marginal rate.
• Withholding tax at 25% by the company.

Special Considerations

• Distinction from close company transactions.
• Capital loss for those taxed under income tax.

Company's Perspective on Share Buyback

• Potential stamp duty liability.
• No stamp duty if shares are converted to redeemable preference shares first.

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Thank you for listening to Study For Tax in your Coffee Break! If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review on your Podcast platform and share it with others to let them know you enjoyed the podcast.

If you'd like to purchase the books from which the content of this podcast is made, head to https://paulabyrne.ie/tax-books/.

Thank you to Matthew Bliss for editing and production of this episode. If you'd like him to edit your podcast, send an email to business@mbpod.com or head to https://www.mbpod.com/.

Thank you to Amicus: Search and Recruitment for Sponsoring this episode. To find your next Finance or Accounting Role, head to https://amicus.ie/ and tell them that we sent you!

In this episode, I’m joined by the brilliant Shauna Doherty: winner of the Advanced Tax Prize for Ireland in the December 2024 sitting! 🏆

Shauna joined my course late (just after sitting SBL in September!) and still managed to secure the highest mark in the country for ATX. An incredible achievement and she’s kindly come on to share exactly how she did it.

We chat all about:

• How she balanced studying for two professional papers at once
• Why she gave 90% of her time to ATX—and still had a social life!
• Her bulletproof routine and planning approach
• How working with others and asking questions made a huge difference
• The mindset shift from "just pass it" to actually enjoying tax

Shauna’s strategy is full of smart, sustainable study tips and if you’re feeling overwhelmed, this episode will calm the chaos and give you a real-world roadmap from someone who’s been there and won the big prize!

Thank you for listening to Study For Tax in your Coffee Break! If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review on your Podcast platform and share it with others to let them know you enjoyed the podcast.

If you'd like to purchase the books from which the content of this podcast is made, head to https://paulabyrne.ie/tax-books/.

Thank you to Matthew Bliss for editing and production of this episode. If you'd like him to edit your podcast, send an email to business@mbpod.com or head to https://www.mbpod.com/.

Thank you to Amicus: Search and Recruitment for Sponsoring this episode. To find your next Finance or Accounting Role, head to https://amicus.ie/ and tell them that we sent you!

In this episode, I’m joined by one of my brilliant former students turned chief mock corrector, Caron Coffey. Caron sat ATX with me back in December 2022 and has been an essential part of my teaching team ever since. Not only does she have a passion for tax (yes, really!), but she’s also deeply committed to helping our students pass—and she doesn't miss a thing.

We chat about:

• Why mock exams are non-negotiable if you want to pass
• Common mistakes students make in mocks—and how to avoid them
• How good layout and clear structure can win you marks
• What exam technique really looks like under pressure
• Caron’s own ACCA journey (including sitting ATX and AAA at the same time!)
• How finding a study buddy can keep you going (shoutout to Grace!)

If you're tempted to skip a mock because “you’d rather be studying,” this one’s especially for you.

Thank you for listening to Study For Tax in your Coffee Break! If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review on your Podcast platform and share it with others to let them know you enjoyed the podcast.

If you'd like to purchase the books from which the content of this podcast is made, head to https://paulabyrne.ie/tax-books/.

Thank you to Matthew Bliss for editing and production of this episode. If you'd like him to edit your podcast, send an email to business@mbpod.com or head to https://www.mbpod.com/.

Thank you to Amicus: Search and Recruitment for Sponsoring this episode. To find your next Finance or Accounting Role, head to https://amicus.ie/ and tell them that we sent you!

In this episode, I take a deep dive into one of the most deceptively challenging areas of tax exams: ethics. It might only be worth five marks, but identifying exactly which ethical principle is being breached—and why—can be trickier than it seems.

I break down the five key ethical principles that you need to know inside and out:

• Professional behaviour
• Objectivity
• Professional competence and due care
• Confidentiality
• Integrity

You’ll hear real-world scenarios that bring these abstract principles to life, like handling conflicts of interest in a small practice, navigating client relationships, or what to do when a client asks you to overlook a mistake. I also talk about the practical safeguards you need to consider, especially in small firms, and how to keep your professional integrity intact even in sticky situations.

Thank you for listening to Study For Tax in your Coffee Break! If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review on your Podcast platform and share it with others to let them know you enjoyed the podcast.

If you'd like to purchase the books from which the content of this podcast is made, head to https://paulabyrne.ie/tax-books/.

Thank you to Matthew Bliss for editing and production of this episode. If you'd like him to edit your podcast, send an email to business@mbpod.com or head to https://www.mbpod.com/.

Thank you to Amicus: Search and Recruitment for Sponsoring this episode. To find your next Finance or Accounting Role, head to https://amicus.ie/ and tell them that we sent you!

In this episode, we’re looking at what happens when shares are being sold—by a person or by a company—and how that affects your tax treatment in the exam. With markets taking a dip in April 2025, it’s a timely topic, and a favourite for the examiner too.

I’ll walk you through how to spot whether the shares are quoted or unquoted, why that matters, and what reliefs (if any!) might be available. We’ll cover Entrepreneur Relief, Retirement Relief, and the lovely Holding Company Exemption, along with some very exam-relevant group structure traps like clawbacks and capital group transfers.

Main Topics covered in this Episode:

• Difference between quoted and unquoted shares
• Identifying who is disposing of the shares (individual vs company)
• Capital Gains Tax (CGT) implications for individuals
• Entrepreneur Relief and Retirement Relief
• Corporation Tax on chargeable gains for companies
• Holding Company Exemption
• Clawback of reliefs in group structures
• Importance of exam technique and common traps

Thank you for listening to Study For Tax in your Coffee Break!

If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review on your Podcast platform and share it with others to let them know you enjoyed the podcast.

If you'd like to purchase the books from which the content of this podcast is made, head to https://paulabyrne.ie/tax-books/.

Thank you to Matthew Bliss for editing and production of this episode. If you'd like him to edit your podcast, send an email to business@mbpod.com or head to https://www.mbpod.com/.

Thank you to Amicus: Search and Recruitment for Sponsoring this episode. To find your next Finance or Accounting Role, head to https://amicus.ie/ and tell them that we sent you!

In this episode, Paula Byrne outlines the recent changes to the Research and Development Tax Credit in Ireland, which has increased from 25% to 30%. She details the conditions for companies to qualify for the credit, the process of claiming and obtaining refunds, and the implications of these changes for limited companies engaged in research and development.

Paula also covers how companies can leverage the tax credit for in-house R&D expenses, plant and machinery, and buildings used primarily for R&D activities and what you should look out for in an exam question with the change to the Credit.

Episode Summary:

1. Eligibility: The R&D tax credit is available to limited companies in Ireland, not sole traders. The company must be within the charge of Irish corporation tax.
2. Tax Credit Rate: The tax credit has moved from 25% to 30%.
3. Location of R&D: Research and development must be carried out in Ireland, the EU, the EEA (including Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland), or the UK.
4. Claim Submission: All R&D claims must be submitted within 12 months from the end of the accounting period.
5. Refund Options: Companies can offset the credit against tax liabilities over a three-year period, or opt for a repayment in the form of refundable installments over the same period.
6. Usage of Credit: The credit applies to in-house R&D expenses, including overheads, plant and machinery, buildings used for R&D, and can potentially be applied to salaries of key employees under specific conditions.
7. Key Employee Benefit: The tax credit can be partially allocated to key employees, provided they meet conditions like spending 50% of their time in R&D activities and maintaining an effective income tax rate of at least 23%.

Thank you for listening to Study For Tax in your Coffee Break! If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review on your Podcast platform and share it with others to let them know you enjoyed the podcast.

If you'd like to purchase the books from which the content of this podcast is made, head to https://paulabyrne.ie/tax-books/.

Click here to grab your ideal audio revision material for Tax Conditions for this year.

Thank you to Matthew Bliss for editing and production of this episode. If you'd like him to edit your podcast, send an email to business@mbpod.com or head to https://www.mbpod.com/.