Tax Credits For Unmarried People? HELP!

Hi,

Recently my partner and I had a Child. Currently she is out on maternity leave but I do not see her going back to work as it really isn't worth it with the cost of child care. I queried with Revenue about my partner passing her tax credits too me as we live together as ''Man & Wife''.
Revenue told me that only when we are ''legally married in the eyes of the state'' can i get her tax credits. Not happy but nothing I can do.
Now. Somebody mentioned to me that I can claim Tax credits for my Child.
I looked into this and apparently the rules are:

1) People who qualify - a single parent (deserted spouse, separated spouse, divorced or UNMARRIED PERSON).

As explained above, i am unmarried so should be able to claim this.

HOWEVER -

2) People who do not qualify - if you are person living together with another person as Man & Wife.

Can somebody please tell me if I am mis-understanding this or is it a case that I cannot get any allowance. It seems the State caters for Married People and unmarried parents living without a partner but not for co-habiting couples?

Does this seem unfair to anybody else? Has anybody found themselves in this situation?

Your replies will be appreciated.

Your understanding is correct.
You cannot claim your partners credits as you are not married.
You can only claim child credit if not co-habiting.

Thanks Graham.

Surely this is unconstitutional to provide for some and not for others?

Don't think it is but feel free to take a constitutional challenge if you feel strongly about it.

3.1° The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, on which the Family is founded, and to protect it against attack.

Click to expand...

Strange then how the Dept of Social Welfare would treat you in the same way as a married couple if you were sick, unemployed etc. Same Government!!!!!
Sounds like a contradition to me.

What specific schemes/rules are you referring to?

ClubMan said:

What specific schemes/rules are you referring to?

Click to expand...

Possibly maternity benefit, where a higher rate of benefit may be paid to the woman if her spouse/partner is on low income.

I'm surprised that noone tackles the government on this as an equality issue. It's not just an issue if you have children.

After a bad car accident I'm left unable to work and with high medical bills every month. Because I had moved in with my other half I'm not entitled to rent allowance or a medical card - we were never financially dependent on each other before, we paid rent from our individual accounts etc. I can accept not being entitled to these benefits but there is a huge inequality there that we cannot share tax credits. We are treated as a couple for medical card qualification, housing qualifications, rent allowance etc... so give us our tax credits. I would actually love to mobilise a group to challenge the government on this legally. It stings to know that there are so many couples claiming that they don't live together to claim benefits. Perhaps it would even be cost effective for the government to change the tax credit system?

Moved to Letting Off Steam.

Surely this is unconstitutional to provide for some and not for others?

Click to expand...

No, its actually the opposite - they have to be discriminatory to conform with the provisions in the Constitution.

Due to the special place of the family (married in the case of couples + children) in the Constitution, in tax and social welfare dealings with the State, the co-habiting couple must always be in a less favourable position than the married couple.

So for taxation, co-habiting are treated as single as this is less favourable.

And for Social Welfare, co-habiting are treated as couples as this is less favourable.

Under Irish law, married people have legal responsibilities and obligations that single people dont have, so if the Government were to give both married and co-habiting people the same benefits, it would be discriminatory against the married people as "benefits + responsibilities" is less favourable than "benefits".

You could look at it another way. Co-habiting couples are paying for the additional freedom and lack of obligation/responsibility that they have in comparison with married couples.

Remember that the obligations and responsibilities that married people are a lot wider than living costs - they have inheritance, family law issues, next of kin, divorce issues etc. that co-habiting couple dont have.