Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 March 2017
134. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of taxpayers who availed of the incapacitated child benefit in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12249/17]
View answer135. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance his views on whether there is sufficient awareness of the incapacitated child benefit among taxpayers; if consideration has been given to proactively bringing it to the attention of possible candidates such as through collaboration with the Departments of Health, Children and Youth Affairs or Social Protection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12250/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 134 and 135 together.
I have assumed for the purposes of this reply that the Deputy's questions refer to the Incapacitated Child Tax Credit.
I am advised by Revenue that the trend in the number of claims, and associated costs, for the Incapacitated Child Tax Credit is available in the Costs of Tax Expenditures Table on the Revenue Statistics webpage at http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/costs-expenditures.html.
The information provides an annual breakdown of the cost to the Exchequer and the associated numbers claiming the "Additional Credit for Incapacitated Child" for the years 2004 to 2014; which are the years for which complete PAYE and self-employed income tax filing data are available. The published information will be updated in due course as newer data, including from the 2015 Form 11 for self-employed cases, is available. However, despite the absence of complete information for 2015 onwards, Revenue has also advised that there is more timely information available on claims in respect of PAYE taxpayers in employment. That data reflects the number of PAYE taxpayers with the Incapacitated Child Credit on their record, irrespective of whether the taxpayer has the earning capacity to use some or all of the credit.
The comparison of the published website data (PAYE and self-employed taxpayers who have used all or some of the incapacitated child credit) up to 2014, and provisional data for PAYE taxpayers only up to 2017, is as follows:
|
Year |
PAYE taxpayers in employment credit on record |
PAYE and self-employed taxpayers: claims giving rise to a cost to the Exchequer (years for which complete data is available) |
|
2013 |
14,682 |
17,700 |
|
2014 |
15,292 |
20,300 |
|
2015 |
15,673 |
|
|
2016 |
15,890 |
|
|
2017 |
15,893 |
The entitlement to the Incapacitated Child Tax Credit is set out in section 465 Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (as amended). This provides that a taxpayer is entitled to the tax credit for a year if it is proven that he or she had a permanently incapacitated living child:-
- under 18 years of age, or
- over 18 years who is permanently incapacitated from maintaining himself/herself and became permanently incapacitated either before reaching 21 years, or had become so incapacitated after reaching the age of 21 years but while receiving full-time instruction at any university, college, school or other educational establishment.
To establish entitlement to the credit in respect of any child, medical evidence is required. Once confirmation of entitlement has been provided with the initial claim, the credit will be awarded to the eligible taxpayer in subsequent tax years provided the relevant conditions continue to be met.
I am advised by Revenue that they have regular contact with relevant Government bodies and agencies, and voluntary bodies, about the Incapacitated Child Tax Credit. Those contacts include regular updating of information to the Citizens Information Board for their website Citizensinformation.ie.
Revenue has also advised that they have ongoing contact with the Departments of Social Protection, Health and Children and Youth Affairs; and update those Departments specifically about the credit, including information about the conditions for claiming the credit, how to claim it (including that the credit is available to claim online on PAYE Services), and the necessary evidence which is required from medical practitioners. Revenue is always open to exploring ways in which awareness of the credit may be increased.
The approach towards raising awareness of the Incapacitated Child Tax Credit is in keeping with other initiatives undertaken by Revenue to publicise taxpayers' entitlements to tax credits and reliefs which included sending a targeted, written reminder, late last year, to almost 140,000 taxpayers who had not claimed any additional tax credits in the previous four years.
