Assets that are counted
- Cash, current and deposit accounts, credit union shares, An Post savings
- Shares, bonds, investment funds, prize bonds
- The family home (for three years)
- Other houses, apartments, sites, land and commercial property
- A farm or business
- Money or property given away in the last five years
- Money owed to the applicant
Debts secured on an asset, such as a mortgage, can be set against that asset. Personal loans are not deducted.
The allowance
The first €36,000 of assets is not counted (€72,000 for a couple). It is taken off cash and savings first, and any remainder off other assets. Someone with €30,000 in savings and a house therefore pays nothing on the savings and the €6,000 left over comes off the house value.
The five-year rule
If the applicant gave money or property to anyone in the five years before the application, it is counted as though they still had it. That includes gifts to children, transferring the house to a child, and paying off a child's mortgage. A transfer made more than five years before the application is not counted. There is no amount below which the rule does not apply.
What is not counted
Personal belongings, a car, a wedding ring. Rent from the family home. Income of the applicant's children. Assets that were transferred more than five years before applying.
Questions families ask
Is a life insurance policy an asset?
A policy that has a cash value is counted. Term life cover with no surrender value is not.
What about a joint account with my daughter?
The applicant's share of the account is counted. Be ready to show whose money it is.
Will Revenue see the bank statements?
The HSE assesses the application. Statements are needed for every account so that the figures match the declared assets; mismatches are the main reason applications are queried.