Parliamentary Question addressed to the Minister for Finance

To ask the Minister for Finance if consideration has been given to the unfair treatment of the secondary carer, who is the sole financial supporter of the primary carer and their children, being unable to receive the single person child carer credit when the primary carer who is not in employment but simply refuses to relinquish the credit to the secondary carer; and if he will make a statement on the matter?

The person who cares for the child for most of the year is entitled to the credit in the first instance. Agreement as to who will be the primary carer of a child is a matter for the parents or guardians. However, only the primary carer is entitled to the credit.

In circumstances where the primary carer cannot utilise the credit   for example, because of insufficient taxable income – the primary carer may relinquish the credit and a secondary claimant may claim it.  The requirement for a primary claimant to relinquish the credit before a claim from a secondary claimant can be considered is necessary, as in the first instance, only one credit is available in respect of a qualifying child or children.

There are many reasons why a primary carer may not wish to relinquish the credit. Only they can gauge whether their income would be of a sufficient amount over the course of a tax year to be able to utilise the credit. An individual may wish to retain the credit in the expectation that they may find employment during the year, for example. In addition, taxpayers are entitled to review their tax affairs over a four year look back period, and depending on circumstances, an individual might wish to retain the credit in order to offset any tax liability that might arise as a result of a review of their income tax liabilities in any of the years concerned.

Financial support alone is not sufficient for a parent to be deemed a legitimate secondary carer when it comes to entitlement to the credit. Ultimately, maintenance payments are a matter for parents and if necessary, the courts to decide. It is not possible, and indeed would not be appropriate, for the tax code to take account of every possible variable.

I have considered the possible automatic transfer of the credit in cases where a primary carer refuses to relinquish it. However, there are many reasons why this would not be feasible, including logistical, data protection and constitutional concerns.