Finance Act, 2000

Home carer's allowance.

12.— As respects the year of assessment 2000-2001 and subsequent years of assessment, the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in Chapter 1 of Part 15 by the insertion of the following section after section 466:

“Home carer's allowance.

466A.—(1) In this section—

‘appropriate percentage’, in relation to a year of assessment, means a percentage equal to the standard rate of tax for that year;

‘dependent person’, in relation to a qualifying claimant, means a person (other than the spouse of the qualifying claimant) who, subject to subsection (3), resides with that qualifying claimant and who is—

(a) a child in respect of whom either the qualifying claimant or his or her spouse is, at any time during a year of assessment, in receipt of child benefit under Part IV of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 , or

(b) an individual who, at any time during a year of assessment, is of the age of 65 years or over, or

(c) an individual who is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical infirmity;

‘qualifying claimant’, in relation to a year of assessment, means an individual—

(a) who is assessed to tax for that year in accordance with section 1017, and

(b) who, or whose spouse, (in this section referred to as the ‘carer spouse’) is engaged during that year in caring for one or more dependent persons;

‘relative’, in relation to a qualifying claimant, includes a relation by marriage and a person in respect of whom the qualifying claimant is or was the legal guardian;

‘specified amount’ means, subject to subsections (6) and (7), £3,000.

(2) Where for any year of assessment an individual proves that he or she is a qualifying claimant, the income tax to be charged on the individual, other than in accordance with section 16(2), for that year of assessment shall be reduced by an amount which is the lesser of—

(a) an amount equal to the appropriate percentage of the specified amount, or

(b) the amount which reduces that income tax to nil.

(3) For the purposes of this section—

(a) a dependent person in relation to a qualifying claimant who is a relative of that claimant or the claimant's spouse shall be regarded as residing with the qualifying claimant if—

(i) the relative lives in close proximity to the qualifying claimant, and

(ii) a direct system of communication exists between the qualifying claimant's residence and the residence of the relative,

and

(b) a qualifying claimant and a relative shall be regarded as living in close proximity if they reside—

(i) next door in adjacent residences, or

(ii) on the same property, or

(iii) within 2 kilometres of each other.

(4) A qualifying claimant shall be entitled to only one reduction of tax under subsection (2) for any year of assessment irrespective of the number of dependent persons resident with the qualifying claimant in that year.

(5) Relief under this section in respect of a dependent person shall be granted to one and only one qualifying claimant being the person with whom that dependent person normally resides or, where subsection (3) applies, the person who, or whose spouse, normally cares for the dependent person.

(6) (a) Where in any year of assessment the carer spouse is entitled in his or her own right to an income exceeding £4,000 in that year, the specified amount shall be reduced by an amount which is equal to 3 times the amount of that excess.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), no account shall be taken of any Carer's Allowance payable under Chapter 10 of Part III of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 .

(7) (a) Notwithstanding subsection (6) but subject to the other provisions of this section including this subsection, relief may be granted for a year of assessment where the claimant was entitled to relief under this section for the immediately preceding year of assessment.

(b) Where relief is to be granted for a year of assessment by virtue of paragraph (a), it shall not exceed the amount of relief granted in the immediately preceding year of assessment.

(c) Relief shall not be granted for a year of assessment by virtue of paragraph (a) if it was so granted for the immediately preceding year of assessment.

(8) Where for any year of assessment relief is granted to an individual under this section, the individual shall not also be entitled to the benefit of the provision contained in section 15(3) but the individual may elect by notice in writing to the inspector to have benefit under the said section 15(3) granted instead of the relief granted under this section.”,

and

(b) in the Table to section 458, by the insertion, in Part 2, after “Section 466” (inserted by this Act) of “Section 466A”.