Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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177. To ask the Minister for Finance the conditions a person must meet in order to qualify for a PAYE tax credit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8882/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that Section 472 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for a tax credit known as the "employee tax credit" or "PAYE tax credit" to an individual who has emoluments (other than "excluded" emoluments) to which the PAYE system of tax deduction at source applies or is applied.

Where an individual's total income for the year consists wholly or partly of such emoluments, he/she is entitled to a tax credit of €1,650, or a lesser amount where the full PAYE credit is not required to cover the income tax liability. Irrespective of the number of sources of emoluments to which the PAYE system applies or is applied, an individual is entitled to only one PAYE tax credit. However, in the case of a couple who are jointly assessed, each individual is entitled to the PAYE credit against his/her respective emoluments (provided such emoluments are not "excluded" emoluments). "Excluded" emoluments i.e. emoluments which do not give rise to an entitlement to the credit, are emoluments paid directly or indirectly by a company or by anyone connected with the company, to a proprietary director of that company, or to the spouse/civil partner or child of such a director,or - emoluments paid directly or indirectly by an individual (or by a partnership of which the individual is a partner) to the spouse/civil partner or child of the individual.

However, emoluments paid to the children of proprietary directors and self-employed individuals (other than a child who is himself or herself a proprietary director) are not "excluded" emoluments (and therefore give rise to an entitlement to the PAYE tax credit) where (i) the individual is an employed contributor for the purposes of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (but not including civil servants, members of the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, certain public servants who were appointed prior to 5 April 1995 and an individual who is an employed contributor for occupational injury purposes only), or (ii) the employer, in relation to the emoluments paid to the child in the year of assessment, complies with the requirements of the PAYE system, (b) the employment is a full-time employment for the whole of the tax year, and (c) the emoluments from the employment in the year of assessment must not be less than €4,572.