Your MoneyQ&A

If my dad follows my mum into a nursing home will Fair Deal charge us again?

The charge is assessed on the value of assets, not on any specific asset, so HSE will charge on all savings and assets above a certain financial threshold

Under Fair Deal, anyone in nursing home care contributes to the cost every year from their assets above a certain financial threshold. Photograph: iStock
Under Fair Deal, anyone in nursing home care contributes to the cost every year from their assets above a certain financial threshold. Photograph: iStock
Dominic Coyle's picture
Dominic Coyle
Tue Nov 12 2024 - 05:00

My mum has been in a nursing home since December 2018. My dad, my brother and I still live in the primary home. As she has been in a nursing home for more than three years, the charge has moved from the primary home to a second property.

If my dad had to go into a nursing home while my mum is still there and he went over three years and his charge moved to the second property, does the nursing home take into account that my mum’s charge is active on that second property and has already taken a certain amount from that second property? As in, they can’t go through the value of the second property twice?

I know there is no cap on second property like primary property, but if the second property is jointly owned and both are in a nursing home at the same time, what happens? Ms EW

The Fair Deal subsidy programme for those requiring long-term nursing home care works on the basis of a financial contribution from the resident according to their means.

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For a person who is part of a couple, that contribution amounts to 40 per cent of the family income and 3.75 per cent of the value of their savings and assets over the value of €72,000. As you rightly note, there is a difference between the family home and other assets, with the former being charged only for the first three years.

[ What happens to my private pension pot if I go into a nursing home? ]

If she were single or widowed, the contribution would be 80 per cent of income and 7.5 per cent of assets over a lower exemption limit of €36,000.

So, your mum has been in the nursing home under Fair Deal for well over three years now and so is no longer liable to the charge on the family home. But she remains liable for an annual contribution of 3.75 per cent on the value of all other assets and savings apart from the first €72,000. That includes this second property she owns with your dad.

The charge has not “moved” from one to the other. She was always liable for the value of the second property in addition to the family home over the first three years of care under Fair Deal; it is simply that the family home is no longer chargeable.

If your dad requires nursing home care, he will also be liable for 3.75 per cent of the value of the family home for the first three years of care – the balance of the 7.5 per cent if you like to think of it like that.

He will also be liable for 3.75 per cent of the value of the second property (assuming it continues not to be covered by the €72,000 exemption) for as long as your mum is alive. Thereafter, he would be charged 7.5 per cent on the value.

[ Nursing home fees: can I claim tax relief on behalf of my dad? ]

Essentially, assets other than the home continue to be charged until the value of all family assets and savings falls below the exemption threshold – €72,000 for your parents as long as both are alive, and €36,000 after the first one dies. It is not a specific charge on the second property but a charge on the family assets.

And it is collected by the HSE, nothing to do with the nursing home itself.

Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street Dublin 2, or by email to dominic.coyle@irishtimes.com with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice

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