Married Joint Assessment

Loki1974

Registered User
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Hi All,

Your help would be greatly appreciated. I got married in September 2017 but did not contact Revenue to apply for Joint Assessment until November 2018. I then received a new Tax credit Certificate for the period November 2018 to December 2018. I am now filing my 2018 tax return by ROS. Because the tax credit cert is only for November/ December 2018 despite being married from September 2017 am I still entitled to apply my credits for the full year. I presume I am or do I need to get Revenue to backdate the Cert from January 2018. Would really appreciate all advices.
 
I am in a similar position, revenue told me we were recorded as being married but not being jointly assessed. Will the revenue give a refund or will the back dated tax credits be allocated in the future? Thanks
 
You can elect for joint assessment from 2018 and apply for this by end-of-year review.

For 2017, the year of marriage, you will be assessed as single individuals.

However, for that year Revenue can work out whether being jointly assessed from the date of marriage to the end of the year would be more beneficial than being singly assessed for that period. If so it will repay the difference. See Revenue information here.
 
I am in a similar position, revenue told me we were recorded as being married but not being jointly assessed. Will the revenue give a refund or will the back dated tax credits be allocated in the future? Thanks

Yes, revenue will let you go back 4 years to claim refunds. I have found the revenue to be very good on the phone when I have rang them in the last year.
 
Yes, revenue will let you go back 4 years to claim refunds. I have found the revenue to be very good on the phone when I have rang them in the last year.

Yeah I called them a couple of weeks ago and was told I could claim a refund which I thought was very strange. Do you know if I use the form above or claim a refund using another method? Thanks for the assistance
 
Just to be clear, credits can be backdated during the 4-year review period.

However joint assessment cannot. The election must be claimed during the year.

The OP had already elected for joint assessment for 2018, which appears to have been applied on week-one basis. For that reason he can claim for it to be applied for the full year.

However if say a couple married in 2017, but did not elect for joint assessment until 2019, joint assessment could not be claimed for 2018.
 
Just to be clear, credits can be backdated during the 4-year review period.

However joint assessment cannot. The election must be claimed during the year.

The OP had already elected for joint assessment for 2018, which appears to have been applied on week-one basis. For that reason he can claim for it to be applied for the full year.

However if say a couple married in 2017, but did not elect for joint assessment until 2019, joint assessment could not be claimed for 2018.

Have the rules on this changed? I was married in mid 2015 and did not apply for the joint assessment at the end of 2016. It was applied on a pro rata basis for 2015 and the whole of 2016.
 
if say a couple married in 2017, but did not elect for joint assessment until 2019, joint assessment could not be claimed for 2018.

My understanding is that it can be backdated unless the couple had told Revenue in writing since their marriage that they wished to be assessed singly.
 
No rules change.

"1018.—(1) A husband and his wife, where the wife is living with the husband, may at any time during a year of assessment, by notice in writing given to the inspector, jointly elect to be assessed to income tax for that year of assessment in accordance with section 1017 and, where such election is made, the income of the husband and the income of the wife shall be assessed to tax for that year in accordance with that section.

(2) Where an election is made under subsection (1) in respect of a year of assessment, the election shall have effect for that year and for each subsequent year of assessment."


In other words, for joint assessment to apply for a tax year an election has to be made during that year. It will continue to apply for subsequent years until an election for a different basis of assessment is made.

There is no provision in the Act for backdating an election for joint assessment to a previous year.

Special rules apply to the year of marriage.
 
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Thanks for that, sounds like the lady on phone was correct in telling me I couldn't backdate it.
 
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