The family unit in personal income tax

Modalities

For the purposes of IRPF , there are two types of family unit, namely:

• In case of marriage (modality 1)

The one made up of spouses who are not legally separated and, if any:

children under legal age, except for those who live independently with their parents' consent.
Children of legal age who are judicially incapacitated and subject to extended or rehabilitated parental authority, until a new judicial resolution is issued to replace it, or, where appropriate, children of legal age with disabilities for whom representative guardianship is established when this is exercised by the person or persons who would be entitled to parental authority if the child were a minor.

Note:

Law 8/2021, of June 2, which reforms the civil and procedural legislation to support people with disabilities in the exercise of their legal capacity (BOE of June 3) has replaced the extension or rehabilitation of parental authority agreed by a court in the case of minors with disabilities who reach the age of majority, or of single children of legal age who live with their parents and who suffer from a certain disability, with support measures for the exercise of their legal capacity that the child with a disability needs when he or she reaches the age of majority (or the adult child with a disability who lives with his or her parents), in the same way and by the same means as any adult who requires them.

However, for those who held extended or rehabilitated parental authority on the date of entry into force of the aforementioned Law 8/2021, the second transitional provision establishes a transitional regime that allows them to continue exercising it until a review by the judicial authority ex officio or at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office of this situation takes place within a maximum period of three years.

In view of the above, and taking into account the amendments incorporated by Law 8/2021 regarding persons with disabilities, the references made in article 82 of the Personal Income Tax Law to extended or rehabilitated parental authority must be understood as being made to the following judicial measures:

Court decisions issued under the regime prior to Law 8/2021 establishing the extension or rehabilitation of parental authority, as long as a new court decision has not been issued replacing them with new measures adapted to Law 8/2021.
Court decisions issued after the entry into force of Law 8/2021 establishing representative guardianship for the same cases for which, in accordance with the regime prior to Law 8/2021, extended or rehabilitated parental authority was established (previous article 171 of the Civil Code), which are the following:
- Resolutions establishing representative guardianship over children with disabilities when they reach the age of majority, exercised by the person or persons who would have parental authority if the child were a minor.
- Resolutions establishing representative guardianship for a single, adult disabled child who lives with his or her parents or either of them, also exercised by the person or persons who would have parental authority if the child were a minor.

Remember: the age of majority is reached upon reaching the age of 18.

In the absence of marriage or in cases of legal separation (modality 2)

The family is made up of the father or mother and all the children who live with one or the other and meet the requirements indicated for modality 1 above.

Common rules for both types of family unit

From the legal regulation of the modalities of family unity, the following conclusions can be drawn:

Any other family grouping, other than the above, does not constitute a family unit for the purposes of IRPF .
No one may be part of two family units at the same time.
The determination of members of the family unit is carried out in accordance with the situation on 31 December each year.

Therefore, if a child turns 18 during the year, he or she will no longer be part of the household for that tax period.