Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2022
183. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 185 and 186 of 28 April 2022, the steps he is taking to engage with medical and therapeutic representative bodies to assist in determining what constitutes temporary or partial incapacity to reform eligibility for the incapacitated child tax credit. [28151/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Incapacitated Child Tax Credit (ICTC) is available to any individual who proves that he or she has, at any time during a year of assessment, a child who is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical infirmity to such an extent that he or she is, or is reasonably expected to be once aged 18, unable to maintain themselves.
As previously advised in response to Parliamentary Questions 185 and 186 and the Deputy’s request to broaden the criteria for the ICTC to include circumstances where a child has a temporary or a partial incapacity, this would be extremely difficult to administer in practice. In particular, determining what constitutes temporary or partial incapacity would introduce a significant degree of subjectivity and complexity into the conditions for the tax credit. As a result, and as previously indicated, I have no plans to amend the tax credit.
The ICTC is available in addition to other supports provided by Government bodies such as the Department of Health, the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to assist those with caring responsibilities.
In seeking to verify the existing criteria for the ICTC, that the child, who is the subject of the claim, is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical infirmity to such an extent that he or she is unable to maintain themselves, Revenue requires certification from a medical practitioner on Form ICC2 as to whether:
- there is a reasonable expectation that the child will be incapacitated from maintaining himself or herself in the future; and
- a particular incapacity can be improved by the use of any treatment, device, medication or therapy.
In certain cases, Revenue may consider it reasonable to expect that a clinical diagnosis and the required ICC2 medical certification would be made by a consultant rather than a General Practitioner, having due regard to the specific nature of the incapacity involved and the underlying requirement of section 465 Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, that the incapacity must be permanent in nature and will, or is expected to, severely limit the child’s ability to earning an income from working or live independently.
Where the ICC2 medical certification fully addresses the key elements required in order to prove eligibility for the ICTC, the credit will generally be granted. However, as with all claims for tax relief, Revenue may ask the taxpayer to provide additional supporting documentation to prove his or her entitlement to the credit. The type of supporting documentation that a taxpayer will need to provide in those circumstances will depend on the facts and circumstances of the case.
Revenue is committed to ensuring that the process for claiming tax reliefs and credits is as simple and straightforward as possible for taxpayers and will review the current operational practices in place to ascertain if measures can be introduced to ease the administrative requirements when a taxpayer seeks to claim the ICTC. I am informed that Revenue has been actively engaging with the Department of Social Protection to explore whether there are alternative means to certify that a child meets the qualifying criteria for the tax credit and Revenue will continue to review this matter over the months ahead.
