7 out of 10 Married Couples are Availing Their Marriage Tax Credits ! Are you one of them?

Hello, sweethearts! Hope you are having an exquisite married life going on. To add a cherry on the cake, we have a small piece of information especially for you. We are pretty sure that you won’t miss this! So let’s dive in.

Do you know that most of the recently married couples are getting a considerable amount of money as their marriage tax returns? In our tax structure, whether you know or don’t know, there are some tax credits that value more if you are recently married couples. Of course, this may differ from couple to couple, depending on their person’s life situations but if you are fortunate, and then you may be one among the many who are eligible to enjoy your marriage tax returns.

What exactly is Marriage Tax Returns?

Most of the couples are paying their taxes as two separate entities even after their marriage. The amount you and your spouse are paying separately is high compared to paying as married couples. As per the Marriage Act of 2015 which was commenced on 16 November 2015, if you are a recently married couple, you could request a marriage tax relief and avail the extra money incurred. This is marriage tax returns.

When can I apply for this?

Marriage tax refunds are calculated from the date of your marriage. But you can avail them only after December 31, the year your marriage was registered.

So, if March 15, 2020 was your marriage date, then you can request your marriage credits after December 31, 2020.

What are the normal conditions for this rebate?

Marriage returns are normally due for the married couples who are taxed at different rates and when one spouse gets benefited from the unused standard tax rate cut-off point or for some of the idle tax credits of the other spouse.

What are the options for taxation for married couples?

Assessment as a single person, Separate assessment, and Joint Assessment are the major tax assessment options available.

How assessment as a single person is carried out?

Like the title says, in this scenario, each spouse is assessed as a single person. You will be assessed and taxed separately based on your own income. Also, you have to pay your tax separately. At the time of claiming your tax credits, both spouses are subjected to complete their own return of income from separately. You won’t have the right to transfer your tax credits or standard rate cut-off point to your partner. Also, you won’t be allowed to claim the relief for payments made by the other.

As you are not allowed to transfer any unused tax credits or standard rate cut-off point to your partner, this option is not advisable in a variety of circumstances.

How separate assessment is carried out?

You may be wondering about the differences between separate assessment options and assessment as a single person. The major difference is that the number of tax credits is evenly divided among you and your spouse under the separate assessment option. Under this separate assessment option, the tax affairs of you and your spouses are independent of each other to some extent.

The tax credits that can be divided are:

• Married or Civil Partner’s Tax Credit
• Age Tax Credit
• Incapacitated Child Tax Credit
• Blind Person’s Tax Credit

How joint assessment is carried out?

This is the most advisable option for married couples which are automatically allotted by the tax office when you inform them about your marriage. You will have the option to choose a joint assessment or opt for any of the other options.

In this joint assessment (also called aggregation) option, depends on the circumstances, tax credits and standard rate cut-off point can be allocated between you and your spouse. If anyone of you is the only the earning member, then all the tax credits and the standard rate cut-off point will be assigned to the spouse with the respective earnings.

You can choose which of you is to be the assessable spouse if both of you have taxable revenue. This option will allow you to distribute the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point between you both in whatever way you want.

How a married couple gets benefited from Marriage Tax Returns?

You will have the provision to transfer your tax band with your spouse. This will help you to lessen the tax money that you need to pay. The standard rate cut-off point for married couples is defiled as €44,300 which is taxed at 20%. The remaining amount is being taxed at 40%.

This standard rate cut-off point can be increased by up to €26,300 if both the partners have genuine income. The remaining money can be a new form of savings for you. Also, your partner can claim extra tax credits that could be worth up to €1,100 every year provided one of the spouses is staying back at home looking after the children. This is also applicable for those who are out of work or earning less than €7,200 a year.

Why wait if you a recent married couple? Do you want to know more about these marriage tax returns? Our experienced teams of chartered accountants are always here to help you.