Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
737. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps his Department has taken in recent years to notify carers of their tax obligations in respect of carer’s allowance, particularly in view of recent changes to automatic data-sharing between his Department and the Revenue Commissioners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9337/26]
View answerCarer's Allowance is and has always been a social assistance payment that is subject to income tax. The taxable nature of the payment has not changed.
People solely reliant on Carer’s Allowance will not usually meet the income tax threshold and therefore will not be liable to pay tax unless they also have income from other source, e.g. rental, investment, employment income. In such cases, the combination of that income together with their Carer’s Allowance payment may mean their total income exceeds the threshold. In that case they may, depending on their tax credits, have a tax liability on the amount of their income that exceeds the threshold.
When an individual is awarded Carer’s Allowance, they are advised that the payment is taxable.
Up to the end of 2025, their award letter informed them that the payment was taxable and that they should contact Revenue directly to confirm what, if any, tax liability they had.
From 1st January 2026, their award letter informs the individual that they are not required to inform Revenue that they are in receipt of Carer’s Allowance. This is because information on Carer’s Allowance payments is now included on the Taxable Payments Reports shared directly between the Department of Social Protection and the Revenue Commissioners.
The Carer’s Allowance information page and the scheme Operational Guidelines on gov.ie, as well as the Citizen’s Information website also advise applicants and recipients of the taxable nature of the payment.
Payment data in relation to taxable social welfare payments is shared in the interest of good customer service and to ensure that individuals can keep their tax affairs up to date and avoid any later surprise taxation demands. It also means that when an individual stops receiving a taxable social welfare payment that Revenue will be notified, and the person’s tax credits, and rate band will be updated automatically. In effect, it removes the administrative burden from carers and simplifies the taxation process.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
