Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2018
96. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Finance his plans to change the criteria for the home carer tax credit to cover persons who are not married but living together; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7834/18]
View answerThe Home Carer's Allowance (as it was then) was introduced in Finance Act 2000, in the context of a move to the partial individualisation of the income tax system. Such a system limits the transferability of tax bands and credits between jointly assessed spouses/civil partners, with the stated economic objectives of increasing labour force participation among secondary earners and reducing the numbers of workers paying the higher rates of income tax.
In tandem with this move towards an individualised tax system, and in order to ensure a balance was maintained between those going out to work and families with caring responsibilities in the home, a Home Carer’s tax allowance was introduced for married one-income families where one spouse works primarily in the home caring for children, the aged or incapacitated persons.
This allowance was subsequently converted into the Home Carer Tax Credit (HCC), and the Deputy will be aware that in Budget 2018 I increased the HCC, which is of benefit to over 80,000 families annually, from €1,100 to €1,200 per annum.
As the policy rationale for the introduction of the HCC was directly linked to changes in the joint assessment of married couples, there are no plans at this time to extend the criteria further to encompass individuals who are not married and assessed as a single tax unit.
