Marriage

maxamillius

My wife and I got married in 2019, have 3 kids and both in full time employment. I never did anything about tax credits at the time, just wondering is this worth doing? Jointly we earn circa 125k gross per year. Is there savings to be made?

Thanks

maxamillius

I should say that i earn 75 k and she earns 50k, just wondering is it beneficial to do a joint assessment? I wouldn’t be the greatest at this sort of stuff.

relax carry on

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118447648#Comment_118447648

There is no present benefit to you as both of you are fully using your own credits and rate bands based on the incomes stated. There's no unused portions to transfer to either spouse currently.

maxamillius

Thank you for clearing that up, much appreciated.

wally1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118447714#Comment_118447714

Correct,

Also OP, general advice on marriage and tax

It's better to elect for jointly assessed after getting married anyway for several reasons OP

Outside of the allowances credits which you don't benefit by as the replier mentioned but in the future it will benefit if

Only one spouse is working

One spouse cares for children in the home as there is the home carer tax credit

You are disposing of assets or making investments because Assets OP may be transferred between husband and wife without being subject to capital gains tax. eg Capital Gains Tax (CGT - a tax charged on profit made on the disposal of an asset) is usually charged at a rate of 33%.

However, this does not apply to transfers between spouses.

No Stamp Duty is paid on transfers of shares between spouses also.

Any capital losses OP made by one spouse may be used by the other spouse to reduce a capital gains tax bill.

Also

Any gifts or inheritances given by one spouse to another are completely free of capital acquisition tax.

Life insurance too - Benefits such as one regular payment which may be cheaper than two single policies & Payout irrespective of who dies first / Any money received by yourself or your spouse from a life assurance policy (providing you or your spouse were the original beneficial owners) will be completely tax-free

Married couples OP do not have to pay stamp duty when they transfer assets from one to another.

Succession rights too - When someone who is married dies, irrespective of a will or the deceased person's wishes, the Succession Act gives their spouse a 'legal right share' to one third of their estate.

This is not the case with cohabiting couples who have no automatic right to share in their partner's estate and would need to be named specifically in a will to inherit, and indeed, may be subject to tax on their bequest.

Hope this helps OP

maxamillius

That is very helpful information thank you very much, I’ll have a look at becoming jointly assessed this week.