Single or joint PAYE assessment?

FebruaryStars

I got married in 2017 but we've continued to have our PAYE assessed as single individuals. I tried the Deloitte tax calculator, and as far as I can see we'd actually lose money if we choose to be taxed as a married couple. Could any experts here please give your opinion on which would be best for us?

I earn approximately 53,400 p/a
I'm a public servant, so my pension contributions are not voluntary.

My husband earns approximately 80,500 p/a
He pays 7,200 a year into pension contributions and his employer pays for both of our health insurance policies @ 2400 per year.

Thanks!

relax carry on

FebruaryStars wrote: »

I got married in 2017 but we've continued to have our PAYE assessed as single individuals. I tried the Deloitte tax calculator, and as far as I can see we'd actually lose money if we choose to be taxed as a married couple. Could any experts here please give your opinion on which would be best for us?

I earn approximately 53,400 p/a
I'm a public servant, so my pension contributions are not voluntary.

My husband earns approximately 80,500 p/a
He pays 7,200 a year into pension contributions and his employer pays for both of our health insurance policies @ 2400 per year.

Thanks!

Not sure how the calculator is showing you would lose money going jointly assessed.

In your case anyway based on your incomes there's no present benefit to joint assessment. There may be in the future if your circumstances change and one your incomes drop significantly.

namenotavailablE

You could try entering the values in my spreadsheet. Set the marital status to Married 2 incomes to see joint assessment results and for single assessment, set the marital status to Single person. Treat the health insuracne as a benefit-in-kind item (the calculator won't show the additional tax credit you can claim for the benefit-in-kind, so you would probably be able to save 2 x €200 in tax by claiming this from the Revenue Commissioners).

You shouldn't be losing out by opting for joint assessment and as per above, if your circumstances change due to say maternity leave/ unpaid leave/ unemployment, you can transfer unused credits and cut-off to your spouse.

Link: http://taxcalc.eu/monthlyss/Employee%20PAYE%20calculator.xlsm