Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 466A

Home carer tax credit

Section 466A provides a tax credit of €1,950 for married couples and civil partners where one spouse or civil partner cares at home for dependent persons.

• The home carer tax credit is available to jointly assessed couples where one spouse or civil partner cares for a dependent person — being a child in receipt of social welfare child benefit, a person aged 65 or over, or a person who is permanently incapacitated mentally or physically.
• The full credit of €1,950 is available where the carer's own income does not exceed €7,200; above that threshold the credit is reduced by half the excess, tapering to nil where the carer's income reaches €11,100.
• A dependent relative need not live in the same home provided they live next door, on the same property, or within 2 kilometres of the claimant and a direct communication link exists between the two residences.
• A home carer cannot claim both the home carer tax credit and the increased standard rate band available to dual-income couples in the same year of assessment, but may elect whichever is the more beneficial.