Taxed as a single person the last 6 years / Low income exemption

Irishboard

Hi, am new to here but would really appreciate any help/advise if you could provide me.

I've been married 6 years but did not know that I had to inform revenue of marriage. So I have always been taxed as a single person. Now, we have two children and wife stays at home with kids for the last 4 years and is on job seeker allowance. I am just about to send Income balancing statement for the last 4 years as well as Assessable spouse election form to revenue for a review.
My current salary including BIK is 33K per annum so we might qualify for the "low income exemption" too according to the revenue site.


My questions are:

1. Am I due to any tax refund? and if so, how much approx should I expect? Or else, would there be a way to calculate how much I am due for a refund?

2. Since I have always been taxed as single person, by claiming that I am married, will my tax credits increase? If so, how much should I expect to see the increase?

3. Based on the story above, will we qualify for the "low income exemption"?

I would really appreciate any advise on these.

Thanks

Mr. Incognito

You can only go back 4 years.

Your wife may be entitled to home carer's allowance if her income is less than 5K.

Social welfare is taxable income for the purposes of Income tax so if you are jointly assessed you will have that added to your income and it will be your revised total income.

As a married person you will get the married person credit which is double the single credit and PAYE credit for any years she had employent income.

As to whether this will generate a refund or an additional tax charge depends on the figures. DO NOT POST THEM- Specific advice is banned here or else it'd be a free for all which I will not tolerate.

Read the charter.

ants09

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

As a married person you will get the married person credit which is double the single credit and PAYE credit for any years she had employent income

The paye tax credit is also available in respect of certain pensions and benefits payable by the department of social & family affairs eg unemployment benefit & disability benefit.

Irishboard

Thanks for the advise, ants09

@Mr. Incognito

Thanks for the reply and understood your warning.

I don't think we qualify for home carer's allowance as we have two healthy children and no one in my family is incapacitated. While I haven't read all the requirements for the benefit, what makes you think that we may qualify for it? Just cos if my wife's earning is less than 5K? She is on job seeker allowance thus well below 5k though.

relax carry on

Irishboard wrote: »

Thanks for the advise, ants09

@Mr. Incognito

Thanks for the reply and understood your warning.

I don't think we qualify for home carer's allowance as we have two healthy children and no one in my family is incapacitated. While I haven't read all the requirements for the benefit, what makes you think that we may qualify for it? Just cos if my wife's earning is less than 5K? She is on job seeker allowance thus well below 5k though.

You seem to be confusing the home carers tax credit with the incapacitated child tax credit. The link below outlines the criteria for the home carers credit.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it66.html

Irishboard

Thanks relax carry on, yes I must have been mixed those up.