Single Parent Tax Credit
What is Single Parent Tax Credit?
Exposure to financial challenges differs from one individual to another and from one family to another. Families that highly rely upon one individual for their daily livelihood are highly affected by separation of even demise of such individuals. The single parent tax credit is useful to help offset single parents from the financial challenges they are exposed to bringing up their children.
The Single Parent Tax Credit is formally recognized as the Single Person Child Carer Credit (SPCCC) in Ireland.
How Much Do You Get for Single Parent Tax Credit?
The value you can claim is dependent on the tax year in question. The value you could claim last year is not necessarily the same value you would claim this year. The single parent tax credit you can claim in Ireland as a single parent is €1,650 per year. This is regardless of how many children you raise as their biological parent, adopter, or guardian.
It is important to note that the €1,650 is not remittable to you by the government. Instead, it is deducted from your annual tax liability.
To put this into perspective, assume you have one child as a single parent, and your annual tax liability is €20,000. On claiming the single parent tax successfully, you get a reduction of €1,650 from your tax liability. Thus, you only pay €18,350 in annual taxes.
Who Qualifies for Single Parent Tax Credit?
You qualify to claim the single parent tax credit if you are a single parent. To be considered as a qualifying, there are certain conditions you must meet. These are:
- You are not married or in any civil partnership. You will only be considered a single parent if you provide separation documents from your partner.
- You are not cohabiting with a partner, which applies for the year you make the SPCCC claim. If you cohabit with a spouse during the tax year, you are not eligible for the tax cut when filing your annual tax.
- You are a surviving civil partner after the death of your spouse. This equally applies to the surviving partner, whether a widow or a widower.
Even if you are a qualifying single parent but don’t file your taxes as a widow or widower, you will not get the SPCCC benefits. It is thus important to make sure you file your taxes as a qualifying widow or widower.
Note: As a widow(er), you only qualify for this tax benefit from the following year of your spouse’s death. Those who lost their spouses in the current year will only be qualifying single parent in the next year.
Claiming the Single Parent Tax Credit
You can claim your single parent tax credit as a primary or secondary claimant. As a primary claimant, you qualify if you prove you are a qualified single person and the child you care for is still qualified.
Baseline
You should consult a tax professional for any other single parent tax credit inquiry. If you do not live in Ireland, seek to know which tax credit of similar benefit you are entitled to in your home or residence country. For example, if you live in the United States without SPCCC, you may get Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
