60,000 families missing out on tax rebate worth thousands
Over 60,000 Irish families are missing out on the Home Carer tax credit, according to experts.
The tax rebates, which could be worth over €4,000 over four years currently stands at €1,500, according to Taxback.ie.
“Two years ago, we shone a light on this issue in the press and the feedback was strong. In that year the numbers claiming the credit rose by 5,000, said commercial director at Taxback.com Eileen Devereux.
"However, there is still a gulf between the number of households entitled to the credit and those actually claiming it, so we think now is as good a time as any to revisit our campaign to spread the word in the hope that it might prompt more people to claim this year.”
Ms Devereux added that the most recent CSO statistics report that the number of married couples with children where one partner describes their status as “looking after home/family” stood at 146,698 in 2016.
“According to Revenue, tax returns in 2016 indicate a total of 85,900 people claimed the credit at a cost to the exchequer of €77.9m – which is an average of €906 each.
"Given that Revenue treats taxpayers as units this means a total of 85,900 families claimed the credit. If we contrast this with the estimated 146,698 households with children where one parent is looking after the home.
