Choosing Tax Assessment

xiangwulu

====== Background ======
I just give some background information about my situation:

I am a Chinese, married to my wife (she is Chinese too) in 2005. We have told the Revenue about the marriage, because we don't know about it and no one tells us.

A few days ago, I have received Form 12 Tax return for the year 2013, I suppose the form is some sort of checking. Because I was really confused with form (it's about 16 pages), so I rang the Revenue office seek for helps.

At the conversation on the phone, the Revenue people knew that I got married and it is still 'single' in my Revenue record. Then I was asked to correct this by submitting relevant documents and choose the Tax Assessement on the form.

====== Questions ======

Joint Assessment
Separate Assessment
Single Treatment

What is the difference between these 3 options? Any option is particular better than the others?

I did some reading on Revenue websit, but to be honest, it still don't understand them.

Thanks.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Single treatment means you don't have access to each others credits and bands
Separate means you can claim each others credits and bands looking back at the end of the year
Joint means that you can choose at any time to access each others credits and bands

allthedoyles

Send in the relevant documents , but for 2013 , you do not decide which type of assessment you want .

This will be decided by the tax office who will allow you whichever type of assessment is more beneficial to you .

xiangwulu

sorry for the typo,

it should be "We have NOT told the Revenue about the marriage" in my 1st post.

xiangwulu

thanks very much for the information from allthedoyles and CIARAN_BOYLE.