Revenue Note for Guidance

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Revenue Note for Guidance

462B Single person child carer credit

Summary

This section provides, with effect from 1 January 2014, for a tax credit (the single person child carer credit) of €1,650 for surviving civil partners, widowed and single persons who have a qualifying child residing with them for the greater part of the tax year. This credit is in addition to the basic personal tax credit of €1,650 but does not apply for the year of assessment, if the higher basic personal tax credit of €3,300 is due.

Details

Definitions and scope

(1)(a) “order” in relation to a child, is an order granted under section 11 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 granting joint custody to the father and the mother of a child.

“qualifying child” in relation to a primary claimant is a child who is either—

  • born in the year of assessment,
  • under 18 years of age at the beginning of the year of assessment, or
  • if over 18 at the beginning of the year of assessment,
    • is receiving full-time instruction at an educational establishment, or
    • is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical infirmity from maintaining himself/herself and had become so incapacitated before the age of 21 or while receiving full-time instruction at an educational establishment.

Such a child must either be a child of the primary claimant, or in the custody of and maintained by the primary claimant for whole or the greater part of the year of assessment, or where the child is born in the year of assessment, for the greater part of the period to the end of the year from when the child was born.

(1)(b) The section applies to a person not entitled to the higher basic personal tax credit under section 461(a) and (b). The credit is not available to an individual who is jointly assessed or whose spouse or civil partner died in the year of assessment.

(1)(c) The credit is not allowed for a year of assessment:-

  • in the case of either party to a marriage, unless they are separated by a deed of separation, by an order of a court of competent authority, or in such circumstances that the separation is likely to be permanent;
  • in the case of civil partners, unless they are living separately in circumstances where reconciliation is unlikely; or
  • in the case of cohabitants.

Tax credit

(2)(a) A ‘primary claimant’ is the individual who proves that a qualifying child resides with him or her for the greater part of the year of assessment, or in the case of a child born in the year of assessment, the greater part of the period to the end of the year from when the child was born. However, in the circumstances where a child might reside equally with each parent under a joint custody order making it otherwise impossible to identify the primary claimant, the subsection provides that the primary claimant shall be the parent in receipt of child benefit from the Department of Social Protection.

(2)(b) A ‘secondary claimant’ for the purposes of the section is an individual with whom the qualifying child of a primary claimant resides for not less than 100 days in aggregate in the year.

(3) Where a qualifying child is resident for all or the greater part of the tax year with a primary claimant, that claimant is entitled to a tax credit of €1,650.

(4) Where in any year of assessment a primary claimant, who would be entitled to the single person child carer credit, relinquishes his or her claim to that credit, a secondary claimant may claim the credit in respect of that qualifying child of the primary claimant.

(5) Only one tax credit is allowable for any year of assessment irrespective of the number of qualifying children resident with the claimant.

(6)(a) The references to a child receiving full-time instruction at an educational establishment includes a child undergoing an apprenticeship in a trade or profession, provided the full-time training lasts a minimum period of 2 years.

(6)(b) An inspector may request the employer to furnish any details in respect of such training.

(7) The Revenue Commissioners may consult with the Minister for Education and Skills where a question arises as to whether a tax credit under this section should be granted in respect of a child over 18 who is stated as receiving full-time instruction.

(8) A child will be treated as resident with an individual for any day where the child resides with that individual for the greater part of that day.

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2019