# Married Couple Tax Credits



## random2011

Hi

Myself and my wife got married last year Dec 2010.

We both work full time but just enquiring as to whether we are entitled to additional tax credits since we go married.

I have heard in the past that if one party does not work then the other can use their credits so this does not apply to us.

So my questions is if there is any additional benefit and does this occur automatically or do we have to notify the revenue of our marriage.

Thanks in advance


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## WindUp

no real benefit if you are both taxed at higher rate ; but do inform revenue - it doesn't happen automatically
http://www.revenue.ie/en/personal/circumstances/marriage.html


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## taxissue

Hi  we have an issue about our tax , as my husband seems to pay a lot of tax (100/wk) , my gross pay is 26 154 and my husband gross pay is 23174 we rent at the moment . 
Can some one help us to calculate our tax .
Thank you


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## WindUp

taxissue said:


> Hi we have an issue about our tax , as my husband seems to pay a lot of tax (100/wk) , my gross pay is 26 154 and my husband gross pay is 23174 we rent at the moment .
> Can some one help us to calculate our tax .
> Thank you


 

http://www.deloitte.ie/tc/


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## mandelbrot

taxissue said:


> Hi we have an issue about our tax , as my husband seems to pay a lot of tax (100/wk) , my gross pay is 26 154 and my husband gross pay is 23174 we rent at the moment .
> Can some one help us to calculate our tax .
> Thank you


 
Not really enough info to go on.

Are you talking about just his tax paid, or are you including his PRSI and USC?

Assuming you are jointly assessed - and assuming you have claimed the rent tax credit to which you are entitled if you commenced renting prior to 07/12/2010, then you should be coming home with a net pay of €827 between the two of you. If you are jointly assessed, how much each of ye takes home will depend on how the tax credits are split.

http://www.taxcalc.eu/


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## taxissue

We are jointly assessed and we do claim the rent tax .
 100 /wk is just his tax without PRSI and USC 
I think our tax credits are slpit wrong  because his net pay per wk is 350 and my one 448  , does really matter which way they are split ?


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## mandelbrot

taxissue said:


> We are jointly assessed and we do claim the rent tax .
> 100 /wk is just his tax without PRSI and USC
> I think our tax credits are slpit wrong  because his net pay per wk is 350 and my one 448  , does really matter which way they are split ?



It matters, to the extent that whoever has more of the tax credits will  pay less tax, and their net take home pay will be higher than if  everything is split down the middle. But then the other person's take  home pay will be less by a corresponding amount, so it's like a  see-saw... It won't affect the amount that you take home in total  between you.

If his gross is 23,154, that is 445.65 per week. So if he's taking home  350 per week he's not paying 100 in tax, as he'd have USC of 18 and PRSI  of 13.

You should register for PAYE anytime, and check your tax credits etc for  the last couple of years, to make sure that you have both received all  your credits. I suspect that one of you may not have the PAYE credit...  just a hunch based on the discrepancy between your actual combined take  home pay (798) and what I'd estimate ye should be taking home based on  your gross...


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## taxissue

mandelbrot, i had a look at my payslip and I dont have PAYE , the husband does , he is charged 43/wk .my tax credits are nearly 50% higger than his. Im registered online but I am not familiar  how it works really .
Thanks a lot for sorting us out .


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## taxissue

can you help me a bit more please,both of us have 1650 credits and 3780 shared me 3640 and him 320 seems very big difference , can u guide me a bit in which way should i fix for a better tax pay for both of us


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## PolkaDot

taxissue said:


> can you help me a bit more please,both of us have 1650 credits and 3780 shared me 3640 and him 320 seems very big difference , can u guide me a bit in which way should i fix for a better tax pay for both of us



It looks like the Revenue have automatically assigned you as the assessable spouse and given you all of the 3300 marriage tax credit. Have you got the higher salary?

If you are registered on the online PAYE service you can select yourself how you want your tax credits assigned between the two of you.


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## taxissue

I have the highest salary but there is no much difference and I dont pay tax my husband seems to pay it all , what i want to know is, if the credits are split equaly will we pay both a bit of tax and will be less than what we pay now?


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## WindUp

you can reassign the credits between you both - he'll pay less tax but you will pay more by the same amount......


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## taxissue

Thanks ,  we ll stay the way we are , as there is no difference really


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## STEINER

taxissue said:


> can you help me a bit more please,both of us have 1650 credits and 3780 shared me 3640 and him 320 seems very big difference , can u guide me a bit in which way should i fix for a better tax pay for both of us



Hi,

3780 = 3640 + 320 doesn't add up

what exactly are your tax credits?

you 1650 Personal + 1650 PAYE + 320 Rent ?

him 1650 Personal+ 1650 PAYE + 320 Rent?

I only saw the replies after 5.28pm when I posted after 7.30pm.


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## Mick67

Small bit of advice needed please if there are any experts out there.  My wife and I were married back in mid-2010 but are still being assessed as single persons.  My salary is 75k/yr and hers is 120k/yr.  Couple of questions: 1) Is there any benefit to getting assessed jointly as opposed to singly; 2) Can we claim a tax refund back to the date we got married?  Lastly, with my wife going off on (unpaid) maternity leave in the coming months will she be eligible for a tax refund and will her allowances then pass to me if we are being assessed jointly?  Any help is much appreciated... Thanks


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## WindUp

no benefit while you are both earning those amounts but there will be if your wife isnt working. just ring your tax office and ask to be jointly assessed - you will then get her personal tax credit and higher band

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it2.html


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## ClubMan

If you are both on 41% then joint assessment will probably make no difference but will be no worse. And when she goes on leave it could be beneficial allowing you to transfer some of her credits (can't remember the details but _Revenue _explain it on their site). In my opinion you should inform _Revenue _about your marriage and ask them to put you on joint assessment now and retrospectively back to 2010.


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## danash

taxissue said:


> Thanks , we ll stay the way we are , as there is no difference really


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## taxissue

STEINER said:


> Hi,
> 
> 3780 = 3640 + 320 doesn't add up
> 
> what exactly are your tax credits?
> 
> you 1650 Personal + 1650 PAYE + 320 Rent ?
> 
> him 1650 Personal+ 1650 PAYE + 320 Rent?
> 
> I only saw the replies after 5.28pm when I posted after 7.30pm.


 

You are right 
you 1650 Personal + 1650 PAYE + 320 Rent  +3460=5110

him 1650 Personal+ 1650 PAYE + 320 Rent=1970
do you think is better if they are split equaly ?


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## dewdrop

I am married and for tax purposes i am assessed in my own name as my wife had no income. In addition to my Contributory old age pension i also get a qualified allowance for my wife which is higher than what she could get from a non contributory pension.  my query is should i consider getting jointly assessed and would she be entitled to the PAYE tax credit in addition to the one i am already getting.  Sorry it this is a bit confused.


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## Black Sheep

As your wife has no income in her own right you would get  higher tax credits and SPCOP as a married person so it makes sense to be taxed as a married person

As regards the State Pension, the full amount of State pension (yours and your wife's portion) are both taxable to you as this is your pension based on the contributions you paid. 
Your tax credits and SPCOP will be reduced by the amount of the combined pension


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## Black Sheep

Sorry, please delete this non post


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## Rua

*pensioner new partner married couple tax credits*

Hi, 
My pensioner partner and I are considering getting married. we wonder if this would benifit us tax wise or would we be better off remaining single?I work 23.5 hours per week and net take home pay is €350
Thanks


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## rubykelly89

I got married in 2011 at which point I was earning 31k and my husband 29k. 
In 2012 I was earning 33k and my husband 30k 
In 2013 I now earn 27,500 and my husband 31k 

Is there any benefit to being jointly assessed? Do I need to register my marriage and how do I do this?


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## PolkaDot

The standard rate cut off is generally €32,800 i.e after this you pay 41% PAYE.

If either of you earn above this amount then it is worth being jointly assessed because you can "share" some of the cut off limit e.g. you could increase your cut off limit to €34,800 and reduce your husband's to €30,800.

There is plenty of info and examples available here:
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/credits/married-persons-taxation.html

You can also transfer some of your tax credits between each other but this is generally only of benefit if one of you is not using your full tax credits allocation.


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## random2011

Myself and my wife both are taxed at 41%.

We got married in 2010 and i have never informed revenue as I believe there is no extra benefit.

However she is not on maternity leave for 1 year so i am thinking perhaps it might be worth letting revenue know.

Can anyone advise if this is the case??


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