Tax relief on employing a home carer

You can claim tax relief on the cost of employing a carer if you employ one for yourself or for another family member.

You can employ the carer directly or you can use an agency that employs carers. If you employ the carer yourself, you should register as an employer and you will be responsible for your employee's tax and social insurance (PAYE, Universal Social Charge and PRSI). You will also have other duties and obligations as an employer, for example regarding hours of work, contracts of employment, pay slips, holidays and the minimum wage.

If you pay an agency to provide the carer, the agency will employ the carer and be responsible for their tax and social insurance. You can still claim tax relief on the cost of paying the agency to provide a carer.

If you employ a carer for yourself or on behalf of a family member, you can claim the tax relief on the cost of that care. A family member is a spouse, civil partner, child or a relative, including a relation by marriage or civil partnership.

The person being cared for must be totally incapacitated throughout the tax year (January to December) in which you are claiming the tax relief, however, this is not a requirement for the first year that you prove the person is totally incapacitated. The carer does not have to be employed for the full tax year. The term totally incapacitated means that the person being cared for is disabled and requires a carer.

You cannot claim tax relief for employing a carer if the carer only carries out housekeeper duties or if a Dependent Relative Tax Credit or an Incapacitated Child Tax Credit has already been granted.

You may be asked by the Revenue Commissioners to get a medical certificate to confirm the nature of the disability but it is not necessary to send one in with your application form.

Home nursing

You can claim tax relief on the cost of employing a qualified nurse at home. Tax relief for nursing at home is claimed as a health expense.

Tax allowances and reliefs reduce the amount of tax that you have to pay. The amount by which this relief will reduce your tax depends on your rate of tax. You can find out more about how your income tax is calculated.

You can claim tax relief (at your highest rate) on the lower of the following two amounts:

• The actual cost incurred or
• The maximum of €75,000

You must claim the relief each year. You can get tax relief on the cost of employing a carer, less any amount recovered from the Health Service Executive (HSE). If two or more of you pay for the care, the relief is divided between you in proportion to the amount each paid.

Use Revenue’s myAccount to claim the relief for employing a carer. Alternatively, you can complete Form HK1 (pdf) and submit it to your Revenue office during the tax year or after the year ends. A claim for tax relief must be made within four years after the end of the tax year to which the claim relates.