Incapacitated Child Tax Credit and child's income

El Grifo

Asking for a friend who may be entitled to this. Child is over 16 and has Disability payment from Social Welfare in own name. Nowhere in Revenue or disability organisations info can we see any mention of whether child's income would affect entitlement to the tax credit by the parent. Has anyone come across this? Thanks in advance.

dusty bin

El Grifo wrote: »

Asking for a friend who may be entitled to this. Child is over 16 and has Disability payment from Social Welfare in own name. Nowhere in Revenue or disability organisations info can we see any mention of whether child's income would affect entitlement to the tax credit by the parent. Has anyone come across this? Thanks in advance.

I think one of the conditions to the credit is that the child can not maintain themselves independantly. The revenue website includes the line 'maintaining' means the ability to support themselves by earning a living from working

It isnt clear if other forms of income, (other than from work) affects the entitlement to the credit. Have they got the credit already or are they looking to apply for it now. If the parents are in receipt of the credit at present, then i'd advise to contact their local office just to see.

El Grifo

Thanks Dusty bin, they haven't it at present it only arose lately. I rang Revenue but they said they don't answer general queries like this without taxpayer details. Interestingly I looked separately at the dependent relative credit and there it says you can claim it as long as the dependent relative's income is not above the maximum social welfare rates for their situation. So for that credit Social Welfare income isn't relevant. They just don't mention it at all for the Incapacitated Child Credit.

The thinking now is to maybe apply on paper using the specific Revenue forms for it and mention the Social Welfare income and if granted for 2018 then a back claim should be in order. That way Revenue have had to approve it. They don't want to do online claims even though that might be faster as it says you don't send in any forms there just keep them for checking.

This all only came up lately and diagnosis is really only since child hit teens so wasn't a clear "from birth" situation.

Thanks again for your comments.

Turnipman

El Grifo wrote: »

The thinking now is to maybe apply on paper using the specific Revenue forms for it and mention the Social Welfare income and if granted for 2018 then make a back claim.

Yes. Do this. Now.

Remember that tax credits can be claimed only for the current and the 4 previous years, so a claim in respect of 2014 must be received in Revenue by year end.

wiggle16

Turnipman wrote: »

Yes. Do this. Now.

Remember that tax credits can be claimed only for the current and the 4 previous years, so a claim in respect of 2014 must be received in Revenue by year end.

Do this ASAP. ^^^^^

With regards to income, the dependent relative credit and the incapacitated child credit are not in the same street.

The incapacitated child credit is not invalidated by income, because it's not based on income. It's based upon the child's ability to maintain themselves, and that is determined by the GP who will sign the form. Your friend does not need to worry about the income the child might be in receipt of, however it comes about.

For example, the parent of a person with Down syndrome would be entitled to the incapacitated child credit. A person with Down syndrome can still work and many do. But most of them cannot live independently and will be dependent on their family over their lifetime. The credit is there to compensate when one parent cannot work full time or at all due to the demands placed upon them by providing care for their child.

In the same way, a person who is completely mentally incapacitated and cannot work and requires constant care may still have income in the form of social welfare, maintenance or a trust or a legal settlement. Their ability to live independently is what determines their care-giver's entitlement to the incapacitated child credit.

So income is irrelevant to eligibility.

(Generally it's best to avoid comparing the rules with one credit with the rules for another as each credit is legislated independently, they don't have to be consistent with one another).

wiggle16

El Grifo wrote: »

That way Revenue have had to approve it. They don't want to do online claims even though that might be faster as it says you don't send in any forms there just keep them for checking.

This all only came up lately and diagnosis is really only since child hit teens so wasn't a clear "from birth" situation.

You can claim the credit online, but it won't be granted until the paper form is submitted because this has to be signed by a GP confirming that the child is incapacitated. The GP will also make the determination of whether or not the condition was present birth and whether or not the age at which it was diagnosed is relevant etc (eg, autism is considered to have been present since birth but is not usually diagnosed until the child is a toddler or older, etc).

El Grifo

Wiggle16 Thank you very much for clear explanation. I see now that the issue of "maintaining" is the primary one. We'll move this matter forward quickly. I'll post the outcome. Thanks again.