Married woman's tax allowance - transfer back from husband or not?

bareliz

I transferred my allowance to my husband a few years ago, as I didn't earn enough to pay tax. Now (both retired) I have a part-time job. My husband has taken a small pension out as a lump sum and so will be paying tax this year. Should I transfer my allowance back or leave it with my husband for this year because his tax bill will probably be higher than mine?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

bareliz said:

I transferred my allowance to my husband a few years ago, as I didn't earn enough to pay tax. Now (both retired) I have a part-time job. My husband has taken a small pension out as a lump sum and so will be paying tax this year. Should I transfer my allowance back or leave it with my husband for this year because his tax bill will probably be higher than mine?

If you both have enough taxable pension or earnings income then it really doesn't matter to you as a couple.

You could be paying £252 more than you need to.  But he will be paying £252 less than he would normally pay.

And I think you might only be able to change things from April next year.  You notify HMRC now but the change is only effective from 6 April 2025.

Are you 100% certain you can make use of the extra allowance if it back with you?

Bookworm105

 simple maths tells you when it is, or is not, worth retaining the transfer

the tax free personal allowance is 12,570 and the transfer is for 10% of it
a transfer means he can earn 13,827 before paying tax and you can earn 11,313 before paying tax 

if each of you now earn more than those amounts then the transfer makes no difference to you as a couple since the total tax paid is unaffected by the transfer

bareliz

Thanks for this advice. I know it seems straightforward, but when it comes to tax, I just wanted to make sure. I think I will apply to have the allowance moved back for next year, as I will be earning a bit more and husband won't.