Armenia’s State Revenue Committee to create electronic platform for return of individual income tax used to pay off mortgage interests

YEREVAN, August 27. /ARKA/. Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC) said today it has discussed the initiative to create an electronic platform for the return of individual income tax used to pay off mortgage interest with several government agencies and organizations. It said also that the initiative is part of a program designed to develop and improve its administration.
According to SRC, to secure legal basis for the creation of the platform, it has drafted a set of amendments to the corresponding government decision.
According to the initiative, the beneficiaries will submit the necessary documents to the tax authority only one time, and after confirming their right to a refund of income tax, they will be able to use the electronic platform for these purposes.
In particular, the beneficiaries will use the electronic platform to generate applications for the return of income tax for the reporting quarter, and the tax authority will receive the rest of the information (including the return of interest paid by the borrower) electronically. The launch of the electronic platform is scheduled for January 1, 2022.
Earlier, the SRC had revised the current procedures to organize the return of mortgage interest in a proper and timely manner. It was decided to study the documents submitted by the beneficiaries and organize a refund in a centralized manner after October 1, 2021. A specialized group will be created that will deal exclusively with this issue.
About income tax refund
Since 2018, a program has been in effect in Armenia on repayment of interest on mortgage loans at the expense of the income tax paid by employees. There is a limitation on the cost of purchased (new) housing – no more than 55 million drams (about 112 thousand USD) and a limitation on VAT refunds in the amount of not more than 1.5 million drams per quarter (about $3 thousand).
The amount of income tax to borrowers is returned quarterly on the basis of documents submitted every three months.
On August 12, 2021, the Armenian government amended the Tax Code regarding the methodology for refunding income tax to citizens, which is used to pay off mortgage interest.
The government proposes to direct the benefits provided by the program to stimulate a proportional territorial distribution of housing construction in the regions. Thus, the bill, in particular, provides for the termination of the application of this program in relation to apartments in new buildings and new private houses in the territory of Yerevan (in stages until January 1, 2025). – 0–