Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 February 2026
20. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of meetings and correspondence that he and his Department have had with the Department of Finance following the announcement in January of this year that information of those in receipt of carer’s allowance would be shared with Revenue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15026/26]
View answerThe main income supports to carers provided by my department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending in 2026 is expected to amount to over €2.2 billion on these payments.
The operation of the taxation system is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners and the tax treatment of income, including social welfare payments, is a matter for the Minister for Finance.
Carer's Allowance is and has always been a social assistance payment that is subject to income tax. It is important to note that people solely reliant on Carer’s Allowance will not 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.
From 1 January 2026, information on Carer’s Allowance payments are included in the weekly Taxable Payments Report shared directly with Revenue and include details of all Departmental schemes who are subject to tax. 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.
The measure is an administrative improvement rather than a policy change and does not alter the amount of tax due by an individual. Prior to the sharing of the data file many Carers self-reported their carer's allowance income to the Revenue Commissioners. The new process means that they do not have to do so.
As the underlying tax treatment of Carer’s Allowance has not changed, and no new tax liability arises for carers because of the measure, meetings and correspondence between my Department and the Department of Finance have not been necessary. The Department did however engage with the Revenue Commissioners through a joint High-Level Group, which meets to discuss matters of mutual interest. As part of this engagement Department officials pressed hard to ensure that tax liabilities arising from the transfer of the payments file would be forward looking rather than backdated.
I am conscious of the vital role played by family carers and the importance of ensuring that they are adequately supported. Therefore, my focus as Minister is on ensuring that carers are appropriately supported through the rates and structures of payments within my department’s responsibility.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
