Start saving those hotel, restaurant and pub receipts.

Friday, October 2 is the first day of the new Stay and Spend government scheme, which has been designed to support the hospitality industry, one of the most-affected industries of the Covid-19 pandemic. The scheme will allow taxpayers to claim tax credits on their spending in the hospitality sector all the way up to April 30 2021. The maximum amount per person that can be claimed back on the Stay and Spend scheme is €125, and to qualify for that amount, a person must spend up to €625 in hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, pubs, and any other qualifying businesses. That doubles to €250 potential claim back on €1,250 spent per married couple/civil partners. The relief can be claimed against accommodation, food, and soft drinks, but not alcohol, with a minimum expenditure of €25 per transaction. So that is the first thing you need to check, because not all hospitality businesses have applied to the scheme. You can check out the full list of those who have applied right here. The next thing you need to do is download the Revenue Receipts Tracker app, as this is the easiest way to apply for the claim. You'll need to take photos of all of your receipts of the expenditures in the hospitality businesses and upload them to this app until the €625 cap is reached. You can then make the electronic claim on the Revenue website via your MyAccount, and the forms needed to apply for the claim will be made available on January 1 2021. Revenue have uploaded a step-by-step guide on how to upload your receipts and supply the claim right here. Revenue states that the credit will then be offset against your income tax liability and will be applied after all other allowances, deductions or reliefs have been given to the taxpayer. Speaking about the Stay and Spend scheme, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said that "When this scheme was designed it was our anticipation then, that our economy would be on the way to full reopening, and there would be full mobility across the country. We know now that’s not the case with some parts of our country in Level 3 of the government’s plan for living with Covid-19." READ NEXT: Ireland's current Green List extended for another week