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Married Couples and Tax
Piggles12345
Posts: 736 Forumite
Hi there,
I am aware that New Labour pledged to get rid of tax allowances for married couples. I am also aware that some changes to this system took place in the financial year commencing in 2000.
However, I am still a bit confused as to what tax allowances married couples are entitled to and I was wondering whether anyone could clear this up for me.
Thanks.
P.S. The couple in question are not married and have no children.
I am aware that New Labour pledged to get rid of tax allowances for married couples. I am also aware that some changes to this system took place in the financial year commencing in 2000.
However, I am still a bit confused as to what tax allowances married couples are entitled to and I was wondering whether anyone could clear this up for me.
Thanks.
P.S. The couple in question are not married and have no children.
'I can't deny the British influence on my accent and mannerisms, but I don't know the British national anthem, I didn't weep for Princess Diana and I always cheer when Britain loses at sport. That's how British I am' Constantine-Simms. :T
On God: 'The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike' D. B. McKown :T
On God: 'The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike' D. B. McKown :T
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Comments
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Piggles12345 wrote: »Hi there,
I am aware that New Labour pledged to get rid of tax allowances for married couples.
They were got rid of under the Thatcher administration.
The only tax advantages for married/civil partnership couples are:
No IHT
No CGT when transfering assests between them
and (IIRC) if they were born before 1935 a higher personal allowance0 -
Piggles12345 wrote: »I am aware that New Labour pledged to get rid of tax allowances for married couples.
Selective Memory Syndrome. Fascinating.0 -
They were got rid of under the Thatcher administration.
The only tax advantages for married/civil partnership couples are:
No IHT
No CGT when transfering assests between them
and (IIRC) if they were born before 1935 a higher personal allowance
Oh right; I thought it was withdrawn in 2000, in contrast to the 'family values' of New Labour's 1998 green paper on family support?
In what year did the Thatcher administration withdraw it?
Would you also be kind enough to clarify what IHT, CGT and IIRC stand for?'I can't deny the British influence on my accent and mannerisms, but I don't know the British national anthem, I didn't weep for Princess Diana and I always cheer when Britain loses at sport. That's how British I am' Constantine-Simms. :T
On God: 'The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike' D. B. McKown :T0 -
Selective Memory Syndrome. Fascinating.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by this...
'I can't deny the British influence on my accent and mannerisms, but I don't know the British national anthem, I didn't weep for Princess Diana and I always cheer when Britain loses at sport. That's how British I am' Constantine-Simms. :T
On God: 'The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike' D. B. McKown :T0 -
Only one of you needs to be born before 6th April 1935 to qualify for married couples allowance, the other person could be 18 and you'd still qualify. They will have to be Married to actually qualify though. A couple as in boyfriend and girlfriend wont get any of these benefits IIRC.
IHT = Inheritance Tax
CGT = Capital gains tax
IIRC = If I Recall Correctly
Just out of interest, why is your thread titled "married couples" when you say the couple are not married?0 -
Only one of you needs to be born before 6th April 1935 to qualify for married couples allowance, the other person could be 18 and you'd still qualify. They will have to be Married to actually qualify though. A couple as in boyfriend and girlfriend wont get any of these benefits IIRC.
IHT = Inheritance Tax
CGT = Capital gains tax
IIRC = If I Recall Correctly
Thank you for that.
I called the thread 'married couples' because I am thinking about whether or not to bother getting married. I guess 'married couples and tax' just kind of encapsulated the issue- that's what I wanted to know about married couples and tax!'I can't deny the British influence on my accent and mannerisms, but I don't know the British national anthem, I didn't weep for Princess Diana and I always cheer when Britain loses at sport. That's how British I am' Constantine-Simms. :T
On God: 'The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike' D. B. McKown :T0 -
Piggles12345 wrote: »Thank you for that. I probably won't bother getting married now that there are no tax benefits!
There are benefits, just not many PAYE type benefits. For the CGT, you can transfer items like a second house or a painting or shares without having to pay any capital gains tax.
Plus if you are a guy, you have the benefit of having your wife take care of your credit card keeping it safe for you lol
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There are benefits, just not many PAYE type benefits. For the CGT, you can transfer items like a second house or a painting or shares without having to pay any capital gains tax.
What other benefits/ types of benefits are there?'I can't deny the British influence on my accent and mannerisms, but I don't know the British national anthem, I didn't weep for Princess Diana and I always cheer when Britain loses at sport. That's how British I am' Constantine-Simms. :T
On God: 'The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike' D. B. McKown :T0 -
Piggles12345 wrote: »What other benefits/ types of benefits are there?
There aren't really many.
Until the rules are changed, there is something called income shifting for couples who own a business. Basically they both own some shares in their company and own it 50/50 but only one of them actually does any work while the other has some made up title. They both then get a wage and dividends from the company. Usually it would be a wage up to the personal allowance making it tax free, and then dividends up to the higher rate allowance which are also basically tax free. if done correct, in the 08-09 year a couple could get almost £70,000 tax free (although I think there would be corporation tax to pay, not too sure).
Like I said in my previous post there are capital gains tax benefits as there is no CGT when transferring assets between each other.
These are all I can think of right now however0 -
Thanks Trevormax! I might give marriage a miss then...'I can't deny the British influence on my accent and mannerisms, but I don't know the British national anthem, I didn't weep for Princess Diana and I always cheer when Britain loses at sport. That's how British I am' Constantine-Simms. :T
On God: 'The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike' D. B. McKown :T0
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