Tax Code

Thursday, 19 June 2025

Questions (234)

Mairéad Farrell

Question:

234. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 395 of 10 June 2025, to outline, given the five tests set by Karshan in 2023 and given that the wages of home tutors are paid by her Department, the teaching hours are set by her Department and her Department is the one who exercises control, and the home tutors are not allowed to subcontract their work, whether the 2015 decision is valid in view of the fact that it says that the parent/guardians are the employees; if this would not be akin to interpreting Karshan’s decision in relation to drivers of a company (details supplied) as saying the person who ordered the pizza was the employer. [33229/25]

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Written answers

Minister for Finance

The Home Tuition Grant Scheme is operated by the Department of Education and Youth and the conditions of the scheme have been set by the Department, including the setting of teaching hours to be covered by the grant scheme, as well as that parents or guardians must source a qualified tutor who is registered with the Teaching Council of Ireland for the duration of the approved tuition.

Revenue have confirmed to me that it is Revenue's understanding that the Home Tuition Grant Scheme provides funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children, who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school.

The additional point raised by the Deputy, that home tutors are not allowed to subcontract their work, would support the position that the home tutors are employees for tax purposes, as one of the steps in five-step framework as set out in the Supreme Court decision. The question of who is engaging the home tutors under the Home Tuition Grant Scheme has not changed post the Supreme Court decision. It is Revenue's understanding that it is the parent or guardian that engages the home tutor in a private arrangement and as such the payment arrangement is between the parent or guardian and the home tutor.