MSE News: Couples now able to register to shift tax allowance between spouses

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  • traceyr
    traceyr Posts: 169 Forumite
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    How does this work if only one person works. My husband works earning approx£30000 a year . I am a stay at home mum - do both people have to be earning?
  • molerat
    molerat Posts: 31,816 Forumite
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    traceyr wrote: »
    How does this work if only one person works. My husband works earning approx£30000 a year . I am a stay at home mum - do both people have to be earning?
    No. You still have an unused allowance so will be able to transfer some to him.
  • 50Twuncle
    50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
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    I have registered - but it doesn't make clear whether registration is needed in order to benefit ....
    If it is - then the government needs to advertise this fact more widely.
    What, for example happens to people without internet access ?
  • Doc_N
    Doc_N Posts: 8,267 Forumite
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    50Twuncle wrote: »
    I have registered - but it doesn't make clear whether registration is needed in order to benefit ....
    If it is - then the government needs to advertise this fact more widely.
    What, for example happens to people without internet access ?
    No registration is required. You can make the application in due course whether you've registered or not. All the registration does is set up a reminder email nearer the time.
  • sacko1305
    sacko1305 Posts: 25 Forumite
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    What happens if at the beginning of the year you forecast that you have some unused allowance and transfer this to your spouse, only to find at the end of the year your income has increased and you no longer have this unused allowance?
  • miss_corerupted
    miss_corerupted Posts: 3,486 Forumite
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    Reading this I need to be married or in a civil partnership to claim my OH allowance. Is that right? We are neither of those things, and have no intention of changing. Been living together over almost 8 years (longer than quite a few marriages I know off)
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  • le_loup
    le_loup Posts: 4,047 Forumite
    That's right.
    Please don't change your cohabitation 'cause then I pay less tax.
  • carmina_piranha
    carmina_piranha Posts: 521 Forumite
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    sacko1305 wrote: »
    What happens if at the beginning of the year you forecast that you have some unused allowance and transfer this to your spouse, only to find at the end of the year your income has increased and you no longer have this unused allowance?

    I assume that you can choose how much to transfer, if you can predict what you'll earn. In my case I would just transfer the whole amount to my husband because he will earn more than what his increased tax allowance would be afterwards ... then if I earn more than the tax allowance I have left I will pay tax on it and overall between the two of us we'd be paying the correct amount of tax anyhow.

    But what if you transfer 1060 to a spouse who unexpectedly earns less than 1060+10600? Maybe it's just a chance you take, who knows.

    Knowing that I will earn less than 9,540 means I'm not losing out by doing the transfer to my spouse anyhow, but what if you can't predict?
  • zygurat789
    zygurat789 Posts: 4,263 Forumite
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    carmina_piranha wrote: »
    I assume that you can choose how much to transfer, if you can predict what you'll earn. In my case I would just transfer the whole amount to my husband because he will earn more than what his increased tax allowance would be afterwards ... then if I earn more than the tax allowance I have left I will pay tax on it and overall between the two of us we'd be paying the correct amount of tax anyhow.

    But what if you transfer 1060 to a spouse who unexpectedly earns less than 1060+10600? Maybe it's just a chance you take, who knows.

    Knowing that I will earn less than 9,540 means I'm not losing out by doing the transfer to my spouse anyhow, but what if you can't predict?

    We don't have all the nitty-gritty but in cases such as this an election is not final and can also be made after the end of the tax year when all incomes are known.
    The only thing that is constant is change.
  • pjread
    pjread Posts: 1,102 Forumite
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    This all sounds far too messy to police.

    I know it'd annoy a few, but wouldn't it just be easier (and probably save more than it would cost to enforce!) to just say "you can transfer X" without qualification?

    Actually, I'd genuinely be interested to see what the HMRC overhead for this (in £'s) is expected to be.
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