Single Person Child Carer Credit (SPCCC)

Primary and secondary claimants

The Single Person Child Carer Credit (SPCCC) is available to you if you are the ‘primary claimant’.

A secondary claimant may claim SPCCC if the primary claimant has relinquished it (given it up).

Am I a primary claimant?

To be a primary claimant:

• you must meet the qualifying conditions
• and
• your qualifying child must live with you for the whole, or greater part, of the year (a period greater than six months).

If your child is born during the year, they must live with you for the greater part of the remainder of the year. For example, if your child is born on 1 July, they must live with you for more than three months in that year.

You will only receive one credit, regardless of how many qualifying children live with you.

Am I a secondary claimant?

To be a secondary claimant:

• you must meet the qualifying conditions
• and
• your qualifying child must live with you for at least 100 days in the year.

The 100 days do not have to be consecutive days. The greater part of a day is counted as a day. For example, Saturday morning until Sunday evening will be counted as two days.

As a secondary claimant you can only claim SPCCC if:

• there is a qualifying primary claimant for your child
• and
• the primary claimant has relinquished their claim to the credit.

If the qualifying primary claimant of your child marries, you lose your entitlement to the credit.

If you are a secondary claimant and Revenue withdraw your SPCCC, under Data Protection guidelines we cannot tell you why. Revenue can only advise that you no longer qualify for the SPCCC and will recommend that you check the qualifying conditions. Revenue will not divulge personal information regarding a claim to another individual.

Who is the primary claimant when there is equal custody?

In some instances, custody may be determined by the courts. A custody order might give equal custody to both parents or guardians.

Whoever receives the child benefit payment will be regarded as the ‘primary claimant’ for the SPCCC.

Can both parents claim SPCCC?

If you both meet the qualifying conditions, parents or guardians may make a claim for a different child.

Each child must be living with the parent or guardian making the claim. Two separate claims cannot be made for the same child. If two individuals claim to be primary claimants for one child, Revenue may request supporting evidence from each individual.

Next: How do you claim the Single Person Child Carer Credit (SPCCC)?