# One Parent Family Tax Credit - Incorretly Claimed



## Littlesteps (10 Apr 2013)

Hi,

First time poster here.  I received a letter from Revenue stating that I had claimed Single Parent Family Tax Credit in 2010 and 2011 that I was not entitled to.  I have been claiming this tax credit for a number of years.  My now husband (married 2012) moved in with me in 2009 as a house share.  We were not a couple just sharing rent and house.  He is not the Father of my child.  When we got married last year I cancelled the tax credit as I was no longer single once we married.  Revenue have written to me stating that they have received information that we were living as husband and wife since 2009. They want a cheque for 5,400 euro within 30 days.  I replied and said I did not realise I had wrongly claimed and that if this is the case I am happy to pay the money back but I cant afford to do it in 30 days I would have to agree a repayment plan.  I honestly don't understand what this is all about.  I pay for my son on my own I bought house on my own and was stigmatised as a single parent until I got married last year.  I have asked should I of been claiming married couple tax reliefs since Revenue say I was living as husband and wife they can't have it both ways.  I am so worried and stressed over this I am trying my best working full time, studying part time and a Mother and I thought I had paid all taxes and trying to get debt paid back this is so upsetting.  Any advice on how to deal with Revenue???


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## Joe_90 (10 Apr 2013)

A lone parent is someone who is not cohabiting. Not someone who is not married.

Revenue have raised the assessments on the basis that you were cohabiting with your partner.

You are arguing that he was not in fact your partner in 2009. Fair enough, you need to establish when you started living together as "man and wife" from the end of that year year are not entitled to the line parent credit as you were not a lone parent.

Then ring revenue and talk to them about an installments agreement.


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## mandelbrot (10 Apr 2013)

Well first things first - has the tax credit been incorrectly claimed?

You say your husband first moved in with you in 2009 but you weren't in a relationship at the time? When did your relationship commence? Ye hardly lived together for nearly 3 years and then decided one fine day in 2012 to get married?!

Did you have another tenant before he moved in? This might give some credence to the suggestion that you weren't a couple when he first moved in.

To be perfectly honest though, there's no point trying to play silly buggers with Revenue if you've been a couple for any length of time - Revenue have good reason to be of the opinion that ye were a couple from when he moved in, given that ye are now married.

So, if you can accept that this is the case, then they are right to say you shouldn't have had the tax credit in those years, and you have paid over 5 grand less tax than you should have in the period. So all you can do is talk to them over the phone, explain that it was a genuine mistake on your part, and see how many years they can reduce your tax credits for, to recoup the deficit (they may reduce your credits by c.1300 each year for the next 4 years).


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## mandelbrot (10 Apr 2013)

Joe_90 said:


> A lone parent is someone who is not cohabiting. Not someone who is not married.
> 
> Revenue have raised the assessments on the basis that you were cohabiting with your partner.
> 
> ...



Hi Joe,

There is no mention of assessment here, from the OP I'd say it's more likely a balancing statement issue - as such interest doesn't apply.

Instalment arrangement wouldn't be a good idea here, as it would presumably give rise to interest at c.11% p.a., whereas having tax credits reduced will not, and will also be easier to manage as it just gets deducted at source via reduced net pay.


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## Littlesteps (11 Apr 2013)

Many thanks for taking the time to reply.  I am not saying in anyway that I will not pay the money back.  I honestly did not consider that when we became partners in 2010 that he would be responsible for my son in relation to tax.  I still cant get my head around that from point of view that when you are not married you cannot claim tax credits as a married couple yet Revenue can say that I cannot claim credits as a single parent I just find it a complete contradiction.
However I suppose thats a separate argument.  I will see if I can have my tax credits changed over a number of years to pay back what they say I owe.  Thanks for advice and for your time.


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## olivia56 (11 Apr 2013)

have you said to revenue he is not the Father of the child. if your partner was supporting your child care costs I think your need to pay back the money, if he wasn't I would fight your case.  Was he using your address for his tax correspondence in 2010 and 2011?


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## dereko1969 (11 Apr 2013)

olivia56 said:


> have you said to revenue he is not the Father of the child. if your partner was supporting your child care costs I think your need to pay back the money, if he wasn't I would fight your case. Was he using your address for his tax correspondence in 2010 and 2011?


 
Sorry but you don't know what you're talking about. You're mixing up social welfare payments and the single parent tax credit, two very different things.


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## olivia56 (11 Apr 2013)

I'm not confusing them, he wasn't the Father of her child she so she was a lone parent.  she just happened to have her boyfriend living her in house, not the child's father.... I think her case is open for debate with revenue..


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## Mrs Vimes (11 Apr 2013)

Revenue are quite clear on the qualifying criteria for one parent family credit:



> Claimant is not cohabiting



see here for details

The debate if there is one is with the legislation and not the Revenue.


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## Joe_90 (11 Apr 2013)

olivia56 said:


> I'm not confusing them, *he wasn't the Father of her child she so she was a lone parent.  she just happened to have her boyfriend living her in house, not the child's father*.... I think her case is open for debate with revenue..



I think you have the wrong end of the stick here, the OP does not qualify for the One Parent Credit if she is living with her boyfriend! The point being that the claimant is living with someone else the fact that the person is not the childs father is irrelevant.


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## Magpie (11 Apr 2013)

A lone parent is someone who is parenting alone, who is single ie not in a relationship. If you are living with a partner you have benefits from a cost point of view, which is why you don't get things like this credit which is intended to help actual single parents.


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## Littlesteps (11 Apr 2013)

Thanks for further replies.

I do have to pay the money back which is far enough as I wrongly claimed and I have no issue with that.  I am hoping they will allow payments over a period of time and not the 30days they have stated in the letter.  They did say they will send me a balancing statement.

Magpie, just for information purposes.  I was a single parent I was the only person paying for my son and I paid 2/3 of rent and boyfriend paid one third same for all bills.  In relation to Revenue seemingly if I was living with my parents it is fine to claim this credit so I don't understand the logic of the credit.  Me and the Father of my son are responsible for my son no one else.  If I was in house share I would be entitled to credit but if you are sleeping with someone in the same house you are not it is ridiculous.

I will be paying Revenue back what I owe but if I could afford it I would be taking a case against Revenue for discrimination.

Again thanks for all your words of wisdom and help.


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## commonsense (11 Apr 2013)

Littlesteps said:


> Thanks for further replies.
> 
> I do have to pay the money back which is far enough as I wrongly claimed and I have no issue with that.  I am hoping they will allow payments over a period of time and not the 30days they have stated in the letter.  They did say they will send me a balancing statement.
> 
> ...


 

The one parent tax credit gives individuals in a one parent family the same personal tax credits as a married couple. It is given as additional support for labour market participation to single/widowed/ parents.

It is withdrawn when you enter into a  co-habititing  because you no longer fit the policy objective.


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## ironman (11 Apr 2013)

If your husband upped and left you would be entitled to the One parent tax credit.  If your next door neighbour was living with her boyfriend who was not the father of her child would you think that she is entitled to the exact same tax credit as you in your new situation??

there is a big difference between living on your own with a child and having to pay all the bills yourself (not to mention all the stress that goes with it) and living with someone as a couple and sharing the bills.   And even if the person you're living with is not the father of your child you would still act like a family which is completely different from just sharing a house with someone. I'm sure your child didn't think that the man living with his/her mammy was not part of his /her family.  Therefore you're not regarded as a one parent family so are not entitled to the credit.  There is nothing discriminatory about these two different situations.

And I think that stating that you were "stigmatised as a single parent until you got married last year" is very insulting to genuine single parents.  There is no stigma being a single parent.  Maybe you were stigmatised because you were living with your boyfriend and fraudulently claiming a tax credit you weren't entitled to.  It would be the same as claiming the one parent family payment from social welfare while living with your boyfriend.
It's the like of you that give single parents a bad name. Whenever I hear someone complaining about single mothers living with their boyfriends and claiming social welfare and rent allowance I tell them it's not a single mother, its a couple pretending to be single parents.


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## GDUFFY (12 Apr 2013)

AFAIK I think if you were living alone as a single/lone parent for any portion of time in the year /s in question ,you are entitled to claim the credit.

e.g.
Cohabiting couple, who both are parents of the child, they break up for 3 months, father takes the child at weekends, mother takes the child each weekday, both living as a sole parents, different addresses, both can claim in that year, even if they get back together after 3 month split. 

So i'll throw this question out  :

If you are a lone parent for any portion of the year ,2 weeks , 2months, etc. are you entitled to claim the credit for that full year ?

Maybe somebody can correct me if this is wrong.Thanks.


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## wbbs (12 Apr 2013)

Good point!  Might work for the first questionable year.


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## mandelbrot (12 Apr 2013)

GDUFFY said:


> AFAIK I think if you were living alone as a single/lone parent for any portion of time in the year /s in question ,you are entitled to claim the credit.
> 
> e.g.
> Cohabiting couple, who both are parents of the child, they break up for 3 months, father takes the child at weekends, mother takes the child each weekday, both living as a sole parents, different addresses, both can claim in that year, even if they get back together after 3 month split.
> ...


 
No, I'd say you're wrong there.

The legislation says:
"[(2) Subject to subsection (3), where a claimant, being an individual to whom this section applies, proves for a year of assessment that a qualifying child is resident with the claimant for the whole or part of the year, the claimant shall be entitled to a tax credit (to be known as the “one-parent family tax credit”) of €1,650, but *this section shall not apply for any year of assessment-*
(a) in the case of a husband or a wife where the wife is living with her husband,
(b) [in the case of civil partners who are not living separately] in circumstances where reconciliation is unlikely, or
(c) *in the case of cohabitants*.]"

So, it's actually the opposite to what you've suggested, unless you are a lone parent for the whole year then you aren't entitled to the credit at all.


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## wbbs (12 Apr 2013)

Interesting, so it would be a very bad idea if you were contemplating cohabiting and were claiming this tax credit to let your partner move in before year end!


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## GDUFFY (12 Apr 2013)

Hi Mandelbrot,
Being devils advocate here , 

The legislation says:
"[(2) Subject to subsection (3), where a claimant, being an individual to whom this section applies, proves for a year of assessment that a qualifying child is  resident with the claimant for the whole or part of the year, the  claimant shall be entitled to a tax credit (to be known as the  “one-parent family tax credit”) of €1,650, but *this section shall not apply for any year of assessment-*
(a) in the case of a husband or a wife where the wife is living with her husband,
(b) [in the case of civil partners who are not living separately] in circumstances where reconciliation is unlikely, or
(c) *in the case of cohabitants*.]"


So what if ,when you apply for the credit you are not a Cohabitant ,and you can prove you had the child resident with you for part of the year  ,weather it be a few weeks or a few days a year. So when you apply for the credit your within the legislation.


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## mandelbrot (12 Apr 2013)

GDUFFY said:


> Hi Mandelbrot,
> Being devils advocate here ,
> 
> So what if ,when you apply for the credit you are not a Cohabitant ,and you can prove you had the child resident with you for part of the year ,weather it be a few weeks or a few days a year. So when you apply for the credit your within the legislation.


 
So then you get the credit when you apply for it, as you're entitled to it.

But as soon as you cohabitate with someone you lose the entitlement for that year of assessment.

As far as I know, in practice Revenue concessionally allow the credit for the year if a person was validly entitled to it at the start of the year, and subsequently loses the entitlement. If you cohabitate from February to December every year, and then conveniently break up for 6 weeks, that concession would very quickly be withdrawn.


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## Joe_90 (12 Apr 2013)

I don't look up the legislation cos I know Mandelbrot will quote it for us.  

I agree technically the credit should be withdrawn if the claimant is no longer living alone but I think that it is not generally withdrawn so 2009 would qualify either way and if they became partners mid way through 2010 you could argue that it should apply for that year too.


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## GDUFFY (12 Apr 2013)

Yes that's what I suspected, its all about the timing.

Would revenue have to prove that the break up was convenient , in order to deprive the taxpayer of their right under this legislation to this tax credit ?

or to put it another way ,if the revenue refused to allow the credit on suspicion of fraud ,could the taxpayer force the revenue to prove in court that the break up was false.

I know there is a tone of cute hoorism about this ,but just curious as to how, when affairs of the heart are concerned, things can be proved one way or the other.
Personally I think its an area that needs to be tightened.
 Believe it or not I eavesdropped on one guy telling another in the Bar how he and his partner claims the one parent tax credit .


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