Rates last updated: 22 October 2026 · How we verify
Single Person Child Carer Credit: The €2,700 a Year Most Single Parents in Ireland Never Claim
The Single Person Child Carer Credit is the tax credit for people raising a child without a partner. It is one of the more valuable credits in the Irish system, because it comes with a second part most people have never heard of: an extra €4,000 of income taxed at 20% instead of 40%.
- The SPCCC is €1,900 a year for 2026, off your tax bill euro for euro, plus a standard rate band of €48,000 instead of €44,000.
- For a single parent earning above €48,000 that is €1,900 + €800 = €2,700 a year, and it can be claimed for the four open years.
- You qualify if a child lives with you for most of the year and you're not married or in a civil partnership (unless separated), cohabiting or jointly assessed.
One credit per person, however many children. Estimate the refund with the Tax Refund calculator.
Below: what the two parts are worth, who qualifies as primary claimant, when a second parent can claim instead, who is excluded, a worked example, and how to claim and backdate it.
What is the Single Person Child Carer Credit worth in 2026?
- Two things: a credit of €1,900 (€36.54 a week), which reduces income tax directly.
- An extended standard rate band of €48,000 rather than €44,000, which taxes €4,000 more at 20% rather than 40%, worth up to €800 a year.
- Both are given automatically together once the credit is on your record.
| Your income | SPCCC | Extended band | Total per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| €30,000 (all inside the 20% band) | €1,900 | €0 (band not reached) | €1,900 |
| €46,000 | €1,900 | €2,000 × 20% = €400 | €2,300 |
| €48,000 or more | €1,900 | €4,000 × 20% = €800 | €2,700 |
The credit replaced the old One-Parent Family Credit in 2014 and has risen with recent Budgets; it has been €1,900 since 2025 and Budget 2027 keeps it at €1,900 for 2027 (announced, subject to the Finance Bill). It is a credit, so it is worth nothing in a year with no income tax to offset, and it does not reduce USC or PRSI. Revenue's overview is on its Single Person Child Carer Credit page.
Who qualifies as the primary claimant?
- The person the child lives with for the whole or greater part of the year, who is not married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting, and not jointly assessed.
- The child must be under 18 at the start of the year, or over 18 and in full-time education, or permanently incapacitated.
- It can be your own child, an adopted child, or a child you support and maintain at your own expense.
- Residence. The child must normally live with you for more than half the year. Where custody is shared, the parent the child spends more nights with is the primary claimant; Child Benefit is usually the tie-breaker Revenue looks at.
- Your status. Single, separated, divorced or widowed. A parent who has separated but is still the assessable spouse under joint assessment for the year cannot claim; and if you stop living with your partner during a year, the SPCCC starts from the following year.
- One credit. You get one SPCCC however many children you care for, and only one person can claim in respect of a child in a tax year.
- A child away at boarding school still counts as living with you: the test is where they normally reside, and term-time absence does not break it.
The credit is personal to the claimant, not to the child. If you are the primary claimant for one child and your former partner is the primary claimant for another, you can each claim one credit.
When can the other parent claim it instead?
- A primary claimant who doesn't need the credit, usually because their income is too low to use it, can give it up in favour of a secondary claimant.
- The secondary claimant is the other parent, with whom the child lives at least 100 days in the year, and gets the full €1,900 and the €4,000 band.
- Only one of them can hold it in any year, and the relinquishment can be withdrawn for a later year.
This is the rule that matters for separated parents where the child lives mainly with a parent on a low income or social welfare, while the other parent works and pays tax. The credit is worth nothing to the first parent and €2,700 to the second, but it moves only if the primary claimant signs it over (Form SPCC1 for the primary claimant's relinquishment, Form SPCC2 for the secondary claimant's claim).
Two limits. The secondary claimant must also be single, not cohabiting and not jointly assessed, and the child must actually reside with them for 100 days or more, counted across the year; alternate weekends and half of the school holidays usually clear it, every second weekend alone usually does not.
Who is excluded from the SPCCC?
- Anyone married or in a civil partnership and jointly assessed, anyone cohabiting with a partner, and anyone the child doesn't actually live with.
- If you marry, start cohabiting or reconcile during a year, Revenue leaves the credit in place for that year and it ends from the following tax year.
- You can no longer pass it to a secondary claimant for the remainder of that year.
- Cohabiting. Living with a partner as a couple, whatever the arrangement, disqualifies you, even if the partner is not the child's parent and contributes nothing to the child.
- Jointly assessed. A separated parent still jointly assessed for the year cannot claim; separate assessment or single treatment from the year of separation is the first step.
- Widowed with a child. A widowed parent cannot claim the SPCCC in the year of bereavement itself (the married credits still apply that year) but qualifies from the following year and, in the five years after bereavement, may also qualify for the Widowed Parent Tax Credit; the two are claimed separately.
- Non-resident parent. If the child lives abroad with the other parent for most of the year, neither the residence test nor the 100-day test is met from Ireland.
For a parent who arrived in Ireland with a child part-way through a year, a full year of credits set against a part-year of pay usually produces a sizeable first-year refund; the arithmetic is in how to claim tax back in Ireland.
What is it worth to a single parent on €52,000?
- A single parent on €52,000 who has never claimed pays €8,000 of income tax a year with standard credits, and €5,300 with the SPCCC and the extended band: €2,700 less.
- Across the four open years, 2022 to 2025, when the credit was €1,650, €1,650, €1,750 and €1,900 and the band increase was already €4,000, that is €10,150.
- That's before the Rent Tax Credit or anything else on the same returns.
Single parent, €52,000, one child, 2026, standard credits only:
| Calculation | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax at 20% | €44,000 × 20% | €8,800.00 |
| Tax at 40% | €8,000 × 40% | €3,200.00 |
| Less personal and employee credits | €2,000 + €2,000 | −€4,000.00 |
| Income tax | €8,000.00 |
With the SPCCC and the €48,000 band:
| Calculation | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax at 20% | €48,000 × 20% | €9,600.00 |
| Tax at 40% | €4,000 × 40% | €1,600.00 |
| Less personal, employee and SPCC credits | €2,000 + €2,000 + €1,900 | −€5,900.00 |
| Income tax | €5,300.00 | |
| Saving for the year | €8,000 − €5,300 | €2,700.00 |
At €40,000 the band makes no difference and the saving is the €1,900 credit alone. USC and PRSI are unchanged in both cases; the credit touches income tax only. If you also rent, the Rent Tax Credit goes on the same return and is worth up to €1,000 a year from 2024, as set out in the Rent Tax Credit guide.
How do you claim it, and how far back?
- For this year, claim in myAccount under "Manage your tax for the current year" → "Add new credits" → "You and your family"; your next payslips reflect it.
- For past years, add it to the Income Tax Return for each year under "Review your tax for the previous 4 years".
- In 2026 the open years are 2022 to 2025, and 2022 closes on 31 December 2026.
- Confirm your status for each year: single, not cohabiting, not jointly assessed, and the child resident with you for the greater part of the year.
- Claim the current year in myAccount so the credit and band apply from the next payroll run.
- Then each open year, one Income Tax Return at a time. The credit amount differs by year (€1,650 for 2022, €1,650 for 2023, €1,750 for 2024, €1,900 from 2025); Revenue applies the right figure.
- If you are the secondary claimant, the primary claimant must first relinquish the credit on Form SPCC1, and you claim on Form SPCC2; Revenue can ask for evidence of the 100 days.
Revenue can ask for the child's details, proof of residence and, in a shared-custody case, evidence of where the child lives. A Child Benefit letter, school records and a separation agreement are the documents that settle most questions. The Statement of Liability after each return shows the credit applied; how to read it is in Statement of Liability explained.
What does Revenue actually ask for?
- Your child's name, date of birth and PPSN, confirmation that the child lives with you for the greater part of the year, and your own status for the year.
- A secondary claimant also needs the primary claimant's signed relinquishment.
- Keep school and Child Benefit records in case Revenue asks.
- Child's PPSN and date of birth, and for a child over 18, evidence of full-time education.
- Proof of residence, for example the address on school enrolment or Child Benefit correspondence.
- Form SPCC1 / SPCC2 where the credit is being passed to the other parent.
- Your IBAN on your Revenue profile for the past-year refunds.
If the years involve a separation, a change of address or a move to Ireland, our Tax Back service checks the credit, the band and every other relief for the four open years. No refund, no fee.
Where do you start?
Open your tax credit certificate in myAccount. If you are raising a child on your own and the Single Person Child Carer Credit is not on it, claim it today for this year and then file 2022 before it closes.
Related reading
Questions we get asked
How much is the Single Person Child Carer Credit in 2026?
€1,900 a year, plus an extended standard rate band of €48,000 instead of €44,000, which is worth up to a further €800 for anyone earning above €48,000. Budget 2027 keeps it at €1,900 for 2027, announced and subject to the Finance Bill.
Can both parents claim the SPCCC?
Not for the same child. The primary claimant is the parent the child lives with for most of the year. They can relinquish the credit to a secondary claimant with whom the child lives for at least 100 days a year, but only one of them holds it in any tax year.
Can I claim the SPCCC if I live with a partner?
No. The credit is for a person caring for a child on their own. Cohabiting with a partner, being married or in a civil partnership, or being jointly assessed excludes you, even if the partner is unrelated to the child.
Can I backdate the Single Person Child Carer Credit?
Yes, for the four open years, by completing an Income Tax Return for each. In 2026 that is 2022 to 2025. The 2022 year closes on 31 December 2026.
Does the SPCCC change if I have two children?
No. You get one credit and one extended band however many children live with you. A separated couple can each claim if each is the primary claimant for a different child.