Who qualifies
A small number of long-term unemployed claimants who took up qualifying employment before the scheme closed in 2014 and remained eligible for the three-year tapered relief.
How to claim
The relief no longer accepts new claims. Pre-existing claimants finalise their final years of relief through Form 12 in myAccount or through their end-of-year Statement of Liability.
Detailed explanation
Revenue Job Assist was introduced in 1998 to encourage long-term unemployed people back into work. It granted an additional income tax deduction over three years, plus an extra deduction for each qualifying child. The scheme closed to new entrants in 2014 when it was replaced by the broader Back to Work Family Dividend administered by the Department of Social Protection. From 2026 the only relevance is for a very small residual group of historic claimants who paused or interrupted their three-year cycle and who may have unused relief still available within the four-year amendment window for tax returns. To claim residual relief, the original Form RJA1 must already have been on file with Revenue. The amounts available were 3,810 euro in year one, 2,540 in year two and 1,270 in year three, plus 1,270 per qualifying child each year. These are deductions from income, so the value depends on the marginal rate of tax. The successor schemes such as JobsPlus and the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance operate through social welfare rather than the tax system and produce a payment to the employer or employee directly. The Pathways to Work strategy continues to channel new measures through DSP rather than through Revenue, so the legacy Job Assist credit is the last income-tax route into employment incentives that remains formally on the statute book.
Worked example
Frank started qualifying employment in late 2013 and had his three-year cycle interrupted by an injury. He resumed employment in 2024 and is finishing his year three relief in 2026 of 1,270 euro plus 1,270 for one child = 2,540 euro deduction. At his 20 percent rate the saving is 508 euro.