Taxback.com’s latest nationwide survey has found that almost two thirds of people in Ireland are unaware of the existence of the home carers tax credit.
This is according to a survey 500 taxpayers from throughout the country. The credit of €1,000 can be claimed by any married couple, where one spouse is the home carer and cares for one/more dependent persons, which includes children under 18.
Previously published CSO figures showed that the number of people that class their economic status as ‘looking after home/family’ has been declining steadily though the 2011 census identified that 339,918 fell into this group with men making up 18,040 of this number. Of the 339,918 people, it’s estimated that at least 230,000 have children.
Taxback.com claim their most recent figures are for tax returns in 2014 and indicate a total of 80,900 claimed the credit at a cost to the exchequer of €60.9 million or an average of €752 each. Given that Revenue treats taxpayers as units this means a total of 80,900 families claimed the credit. If compared with the estimated 230,000 households with children where one parent is looking after the home, it appears that only about one third are claiming their entitlement.
This leaves 65% of these families who could potentially benefit from this credit.
Source: www.businessworld.ie
