848C Special savings incentive account

Summary

This section outlines the criteria which must be adhered to in order for an individual to open a valid Special Savings Incentive Account (SSIA).

Details

Terms and conditions

An SSIA is required to comply with certain conditions as follows —

• it must be commenced by a qualifying individual on or after 1 May 2001 and on or before 30 April 2002;
• only the qualifying individual or that individual’s spouse can subscribe to the account apart from tax credits from the Exchequer;
• those subscriptions must be funded by the individual or his/her spouse from funds available to either or both of them out of their own resources without recourse to borrowing or the deferment of repayments of existing borrowings;
• in each of the first 12 months subscriptions must be of an amount (not less than €12.50 and not more than €254) agreed between the individual and the savings manager; thereafter the only requirement is that the individual cannot save more than €254 per month;
• tax credits will only be given in respect of subscriptions made in the month of commencement and the subsequent 59 months;
• the subscriptions and tax credits must to be used by the savings manager to acquire qualifying assets;
• those assets cannot be assigned or otherwise pledged as security for a loan;
• the qualifying individual is required to make a declaration on commencing an SSIA and a closing declaration any time in the 3 months ending on the closing date;
• at the request of the qualifying individual an SSIA can be transferred to a new savings manager; and
• the savings manager is required to take reasonable measures to establish that the individual’s Personal Public Service Number (PPSN), included in the declaration made on commencement by the individual, is correct and that the terms of the SSIA are complied with; the savings manager is required to retain a copy of the document used to verify the individual’s PPSN.

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2021