Written answers
Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Department of Social Protection
Social Insurance
Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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48. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason persons in receipt of maintenance payments are treated differently in the taxation of these payments, in that they pay more pay-related social insurance than those with the same income where that income is not from maintenance payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45553/15]
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Class S PRSI at the rate of 4% may be payable on reckonable income received by an individual, provided their annual income from all sources exceeds €5,000. Reckonable income for the purposes of charging class S PRSI includes a broad range of income, including income from a profession or trade as well as rental and investment income and maintenance payments received by an individual (who is not jointly assessed for income tax purposes with the maintenance payor).
Once the €5,000 insurability threshold is exceeded, class S PRSI is charged on all reckonable income, without regard to the source of that income. For PRSI purposes, there is therefore no difference in the treatment of maintenance payments from other sources of reckonable income.
The payment of PRSI class S provides entitlement to long-term social insurance benefits including the State pension (contributory) and the widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's contributory pension.
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