Making Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit exempt from income tax in Ireland

A new position paper from Care Alliance Ireland calls on the Irish government to make Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit exempt from income tax.

In Ireland, more than 600,000 people provide unpaid care to family members and loved ones. While these payments are intended to support those providing full-time care, they are currently treated as taxable income—unlike many other social welfare supports. Care Alliance Ireland argues that this approach is both inequitable and inconsistent.

Exempting these payments from tax would help improve carers’ financial security, recognise their essential contribution to society, and align carers’ supports with other tax-free welfare schemes. The organisation also highlights that such a measure would likely have a limited fiscal impact, while delivering meaningful benefits for informal carers.

For more details, you can read the full position paper here:
👉 https://www.carealliance.ie/userfiles/files/Making_Carers_Allowance_and_Carers_Benefit_Tax_Exempt_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland.pdf