How to check a tax agent and avoid tax refund scams

1. The agent link: name and TAIN. A genuine agent never needs your myAccount password. They send an agent link request, which appears in your own myAccount under MyEnquiries. Before you accept, check the agent's name and Tax Agent Identification Number (TAIN) match exactly what they gave you. If anything is different, don't accept.
2. The company on the CRO register. If they trade as a company, search its name or number on the Companies Registration Office (CRO) website. It's free. Check the status says "Normal", and that the registered address and company name match their website and emails.
3. The VAT number. If they add VAT to their fee, check their VAT number on the EU's VIES service. A firm charging VAT without a valid number is a warning sign.
4. Any qualification they claim. Titles like Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA), chartered accountant or certified accountant belong to professional bodies that publish member searches. If someone claims one, look them up.
5. Fees and terms in writing. You should see the fee, what's included and how to cancel before you sign anything. Be wary of percentages with no maximum, "admin fees" that appear later, or terms you can only read after signing.

• A text, email or WhatsApp saying "Revenue owes you €X, click here to claim." Revenue doesn't send refund links like this. Don't click, and don't reply with any details.
• Anyone asking for your myAccount or ROS password, or for the codes Revenue sends you. Genuine agents use the agent link instead.
• Anyone asking you to change the bank account in your myAccount to theirs. Since 1 January 2026, Revenue pays PAYE refunds only to the taxpayer. Your refund should go to your own account.
• A fee before your refund arrives, described as a "processing fee", "release fee" or "Revenue charge". Revenue doesn't charge you to receive your own refund.
• A promised refund amount before anyone has looked at your tax record.
• Pressure: "today only", "your refund expires tonight". The only real deadline is Revenue's four-year limit, such as 31 December 2026 for 2022 claims.
• No address, no company number, or payment to a personal account.

1. Don't click links or share any codes. If you already did, log in to myAccount from revenue.ie directly and change your password.
2. Check your bank details in myAccount are yours, and remove any agent you didn't authorise.
3. Tell your bank straight away if you shared card or bank details.
4. Report it to Revenue and to An Garda Síochána ◆. Revenue publishes current scam warnings on revenue.ie.

We'd rather you check us than take our word for it. Here's everything you need:

Is there a public list of registered tax agents?

Revenue doesn't publish a searchable list for the public ◆. That's why the agent link matters: the name and TAIN in your own myAccount come from Revenue, not from the agent.

Can a tax agent receive my refund for me?

Not for PAYE refunds since 1 January 2026, when Revenue ended the arrangement that allowed it. If someone wants your refund paid to them, don't go ahead.

Should I give a tax agent my PPS number?

Yes, a genuine agent needs it to request the agent link. What you should never share is your myAccount password.