Tax-free payment available to employees with children who are on low pay!

Calling all Employees with children, you could be entitled to some extra financial support!

Have you ever heard about the Working Family Payment scheme? It's a tax-free payment available to employees on low pay, who have children. The payment is not taxed and you may also be entitled to the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. Over 53,000 working families are currently benefitting from the scheme already and receiving on average €135 per week. Maybe you could benefit too?

So, for example, a person with 2 children, where the average family income in less than €622, you will receive 60% of the difference between your average weekly family income and €622!

Here's more information and links to the official Welfare.ie website where you'll find everything you need to know about the Working Family Payment Scheme.

Minister Doherty launches Working Family Payment Information Campaign

Monday, 10 June, 2019: The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, T.D., has announced a nationwide information campaign aimed at raising awareness of the Government’s Working Family Payment scheme and to alert employees that they may qualify for this scheme while they are working.

Minister Doherty today emphasised:“

The Working Family Payment is one of my Department’s schemes to provide support for employees with families who have low earnings. Currently, over 53,000 working families with 120,000 children are benefitting from the scheme and receiving average weekly payments of €135.“I want everybody who is entitled to such supports to be aware of what is available and this new information campaign seeks to promote greater awareness. If anybody out there thinks that they and their family might qualify, I would urge them to contact their local Intreo Centre or simply check out the details of the scheme on our website www.welfare.ie

”The estimated expenditure on the Working Family Payment in 2018 was €410.5 million and the allocation for 2019 is €416.44 million. 

One of the measures that Minister Doherty secured in Budget 2019 was the introduction of a housing cost disregard for customers in receipt of maintenance payments. This brings Working Family Payment into line with other social assistance schemes. Arising from this Budget measure, approximately €9.1 million extra will be paid out annually, with affected customers benefiting by an average increase of €27.40 per week in their payment. 

Recent analysis undertaken by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection showed that existing in-work supports, in particular, the Working Family Payment and the Back to Work Family Dividend, are very effective, and work well in assisting individuals to make the transition from unemployment into employment. 

The information campaign will run from today until the end of July on national and local media including print, radio, digital and Out of House including on the Luas and Dart and in train stations. The cost of the campaign is €120,000 (inc. VAT).

The Working Family Payment is available to employees in private and public sectors.

The Working Family Payment is not taxable and neither is it taken into account in assessment for a medical card or GP card.

An employee who is getting the Working Family Payment may also be entitled to receive the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection’s Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance that is paid annually.

The Department’s Back to Work Family Dividend and Working Family Payment can also be paid together and the Dividend will not be taken into account in the income test for Working Family Payment.

The following table shows the family income that applies, depending on the family size. For example, a person with one child, with an average weekly family income of up to €521 may qualify for the Working Family Payment. The payment they receive is 60% of the difference between their average weekly family income and the income limit that applies to their family. 

Family Size and here the weekly family income* is up to;

A person with one child - €521

A person with two children - €622

A person with three children - €723

A person with four children - €834

A person with five children - €960

A person with six children - €1,076

A person with seven children - €1,212

A person with eight or more children - €1,308

*These are net income figures, meaning after income tax, Universal Social Charge, employee PRSI, and pension contributions have been deducted.Full details on the Working Family Payment are available on the Department’s website here. A list of FAQs is available here