Claiming single parent tax credit

hooch-85

Hi, my childs mother refuses to give me my childs PPS number so i cant claim the single parent tax credit i am entitled to. She says the reason she wont let me claim the credit is because she will lose any lone parent benefit she receives when she is out of work.

I am paying maintenance voluntarity and not through a court order but as far as i know my name is not on the childs birth cert.

What are my rights regarding getting to get the childs PPS? Social welfare will not give it to me without the mother present, and will me claiming the single parent credit affect her benefits?

constix

You will need to find out if your name is on the Childs Birth Cert and if its not make sure you get it on there.

The mothers Lone Parents is effected by you paying her maintenance and the number of hours she is working (if she is working), she has to declare all her income which would then be means tested by the Social.

As far as i'm aware you are entitled to claim the Tax Credit and it will not effect her lone parents allowance.

Check it out on the Citizens Information website
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/

January

Do you take your child for overnight visits?

donutheadhomer

constix wrote: »

You will need to find out if your name is on the Childs Birth Cert and if its not make sure you get it on there.

The mothers Lone Parents is effected by you paying her maintenance and the number of hours she is working (if she is working), she has to declare all her income which would then be means tested by the Social.

As far as i'm aware you are entitled to claim the Tax Credit and it will not effect her lone parents allowance.

Check it out on the Citizens Information website
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/

The PPS is also on the birthcert

hooch-85

EurasianBadger wrote: »

The PPS is also on the birthcert

Can i get a copy of the birthcert myself?

hooch-85

January wrote: »

Do you take your child for overnight visits?

Yes i do take my child for weekends, not as often as id like but i every so often.

donutheadhomer

hooch-85 wrote: »

Can i get a copy of the birthcert myself?

yes i presume so

January

hooch-85 wrote: »

Yes i do take my child for weekends, not as often as id like but i every so often.

Then you should be able to claim the benefit without it harming your co-parents benefits.

PPS number is NOT on the birth cert, it is issued after the birth cert is issued. If your name is not on the birth cert then I'd go about seeing if you can get this sorted and look into guardianship for your child too.

slimjimmc

hooch-85 wrote: »

Can i get a copy of the birthcert myself?

Yes, a birth certificate is a public record, anyone can request a copy.
Copies can be purchased on-line from the HSE or at any HSE registrar office.

You need some information to identify the person whose cert you want, mother's (maiden) name, place of birth, that sort of thing.

Victor

Surely you are giving the (benefit of the) maintenance payment to the child, not the mother?

January

You give the maintenance to the mother if the child is too young, it's to go toward what the child needs weekly...

Victor

Sure, one physically transfers money to the mother (or other carer), but I'm making the disticntion between child maintenance and spousal maintenance.

hooch-85

slimjimmc wrote: »

Yes, a birth certificate is a public record, anyone can request a copy.
Copies can be purchased on-line from the HSE or at any HSE registrar office.

You need some information to identify the person whose cert you want, mother's (maiden) name, place of birth, that sort of thing.

Ok i requested and got a copy of the birth cert but the PPS number is not on it nor is my name as i had suspected.

So where do i stand now as regards getting the PPS number? I rang the social welfare office and they said they could not give it to me because of data protection.

MagicSean

hooch-85 wrote: »

Ok i requested and got a copy of the birth cert but the PPS number is not on it nor is my name as i had suspected.

So where do i stand now as regards getting the PPS number? I rang the social welfare office and they said they could not give it to me because of data protection.

Your first priority would be to get your name on the birth cert asap. If the mother does not consent you will need to consult a solicitor.

Funky G

OP - do you have guardianship rights for your child? Were you married to the mum?

If you were married you would have gotten joint custody as soon as both of you said "I do". you would be paying spousal and child maintenance

If not, its a trip to court, or a peace commissioner, or a solicitors office to get your guardianship rights. you would be paying child maintenance

Sounds like you have an informal arrangement with your ex over your child. Trust me, its not the way to go. Ex's have mood swings, changes of heart etc etc.

Getting your guardianship papers then go and get your name on the birth cert. Once there, you should get all the info, pps no etc for your child.

Pay your maintenance via standing order every week - Do not do cash unless she signs a log book saying she has received money every week since you's broke up.

Birth certs don't have PPS numbers on it. then saying that, i have been getting single parent tax credits and only while i was filling out a school form last week, i only got my child's pps number.

so in theory, and i'm open to correction from the legal brains here, you don't really need a pps number for your child.

What your ex has said about tax credits is rubbish. whoever told her that is wrong. what could happen is that if you pay maintenance through a court order, it could affect what she gets from the social welfare - again, im open to correction.

My ex gets single parent tax credit, so do i, and we don't live together.

if you are in Dublin, my advice is to contact Ray Kelly of USFI - unmarried and seperated fathers of ireland. They are based in Tallaght, and are very helpful in matters like this.

http://www.usfi.ie/

hooch-85

Funky G wrote: »

OP - do you have guardianship rights for your child? Were you married to the mum?

If you were married you would have gotten joint custody as soon as both of you said "I do". you would be paying spousal and child maintenance

If not, its a trip to court, or a peace commissioner, or a solicitors office to get your guardianship rights. you would be paying child maintenance

Sounds like you have an informal arrangement with your ex over your child. Trust me, its not the way to go. Ex's have mood swings, changes of heart etc etc.

Getting your guardianship papers then go and get your name on the birth cert. Once there, you should get all the info, pps no etc for your child.

Pay your maintenance via standing order every week - Do not do cash unless she signs a log book saying she has received money every week since you's broke up.

Birth certs don't have PPS numbers on it. then saying that, i have been getting single parent tax credits and only while i was filling out a school form last week, i only got my child's pps number.

so in theory, and i'm open to correction from the legal brains here, you don't really need a pps number for your child.

What your ex has said about tax credits is rubbish. whoever told her that is wrong. what could happen is that if you pay maintenance through a court order, it could affect what she gets from the social welfare - again, im open to correction.

My ex gets single parent tax credit, so do i, and we don't live together.

if you are in Dublin, my advice is to contact Ray Kelly of USFI - unmarried and seperated fathers of ireland. They are based in Tallaght, and are very helpful in matters like this.

http://www.usfi.ie/

Thanks for all of this, no i was not married to the mother and never will be! We get on fairly ok but like you said mood swings etc, can make things tough.

I will definitely get the guardianship and birth cert issue sorted asap, i have sent away the form without the PPS on it to revenue so will have to see how that goes.

The maintenance payments are made on a voluntary basis and i keep a record of all of them.

Ken.

From experiance i can tell you the form will be back to you within a week asking for the pps no. I forgot to put my daughters pps on my form and they sent it back with a note saying "please insert number"

Funky G

its a grey area from what you have just described. you don't have guardianship, or your name is on the birth cert but you are paying cash to the mum now and again for your child.

i'm not trying to wind anyone up but i have heard some scary stores of men who were paying cash but with little or no record, and as soon as they get to court, there is no record of previous maintenance payments, and you could be ordered to back pay the child maintenance.

but get in contact with ray and he'll help you answer your questions. seems like a lot of work needs to be done but it can be done.

January

Set up a direct debit or a standing order now, this is your only proof of paying maintenance.