So once you get your PPS number sent to you you’ll be ready to send off your form 12A. This is the second to last step in the process, which will then allow you to set up your bank account (yas).
***UPDATE: So as of 2017, the 12A has morphed into the form 12 which you can do online on your revenue.ie account. When you sign up for revenue.ie, it takes five business days for them to send you your password in the mail (assuming you don’t have an Irish drivers license, which if you do fair play to you, but the rest of us peons need to wait). Once you get your password you can set up your account fully and have access to all the revenue features online!
The form is is similar to to the W-9 if you’re from the US, essentially you’re filling out your information (where you live, how many dependents you have, whether you’re married or single, your income) to figure out how much you should be taxed and how much credit you’re owed in future.
You can find the link to the 12A pdf on the Revenue website here and I would recommend printing it out sooner rather than later and having it all filled in and ready to go so that when your PPS arrives, you can shoot down to the post office right away.
All in all it’s a pretty basic form, make sure you know your gender and marital status! But what’s important is that it will act as your formal proof of address when you’re registering for your bank account.
I sent it in on a Saturday and it came back in about two weeks, so it does take a bit of time to process (thought that makes it even better when it actually comes, I may or may not have done a celebratory dance outside the mailbox).
Side note, if you already have a job at this point, you may have notice that about half of your paychecks are being taken as emergency taxes, which are basically the work of the devil. Don’t fret however, once you get your 12A sorted, you can call into revenue and let them know you need to be taken off of emergency taxes, their number is 1890 333 425. Once you do this, your next paycheck will return all the unwarranted taxes taken from you (which will make you feel like you’re rolling in dough when you get it).
Next up is the bank account, which I’ll be posting about soon, and which I’ve just succeeded in acquiring *bring in the dancing lobsters.* More to come my friends…
Emily in Earnest Blog 
Hey girl! Firstly I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for writing these WHA blog posts (and all Ireland posts), they’re hilarious and super informative at the same time so mad props to you! I’m in Galway on a WHA myself and my friend forwarded your blog to me so thank youuuu Meg! But also I have a question for you about the Form 12A if you don’t mind? Did you have to register on revenue.ie before you could access a 12A to fill out? I was under the impression that I had to do that, and now I’m worried it will take 5 ever to get a bank account.
Thank you again for your dope blogs!
~Darcy
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Hi Darcy! I’m so glad my blog has been helpful and that you’ve gotten a laugh from it 🙂 nobody knows the struggle like a fellow gapper!! I sent in my 12A before I signed up for the revenue website, so you’ll be fine to just send it through, just make sure you send it to the PAYE office
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Hey Darcy,
So I just filed my taxes for the first time in Ireland, and while doing so learned that the form 12A has morphed into the form 12 which is online and which you can access through your revenue.ie account. I’m so sorry that I didn’t know until now! I’m sure you’ve already got it sorted but I hope it wasn’t super complex (though knowing the Irish system it might’ve been!). Hope your gap year is going well though!
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