Joint assess vs single

D

denisoleary

Registered User
Messages
18
My partner and I are jointly assessed. He compared his payslip to his colleague's, they are on the same annual salary but he's getting €500 less per month than his colleague in his payslip. Is he getting taxed more because we are jointly assessed? Would his salary be better if we were assessed individually?
I thought being jointly assessed was me using his unused tax credits because I'm paid more, not that he would suffer, especially by this substantial sum.
 
You can decide as a couple how the tax credits are split between you.

Obviously, if you decide to increase his allocation of tax credits, so that he earns the same as his colleague, then your allocation will be reduced and you will pay more tax.

As a couple, the tax taken will remain the same
 
Did they compare their tax credits too to see where the difference actually is, are you sure it's just a straightforward extra 500 in income tax deducted?

You don't get taxed more due to joint assessment, the split can be different but overall total will be the same.
 
Thanks for your responses, his HR is saying as single assessed he'd get 2,767 euro but as joint he gets 2,347.
I get what you mean, i think we'll change the tax credit split a bit so i'm not taking so much from his paycheck.
 
Is he the "second earner" in your family?
A single person starts paying 40% income tax on any income over €42,000
A married person (sole or "first" earner) starts paying 40% income tax on any income over €51,000
The second earner in a married couple starts paying 40% income tax on any income over €33,000.
See here.

So if he's the second earner, he is paying the 40% on a greater amount of his paycheck compared to his single colleague.
But if my maths is correct, that should only account for a €150 difference per month.
So the splitting of the tax credits may account for the rest.
 
Monbretia said:
Did they compare their tax credits too to see where the difference actually is, are you sure it's just a straightforward extra 500 in income tax deducted?

You don't get taxed more due to joint assessment, the split can be different but overall total will be the same.
Click to expand...
This is the key point here. Moving credits between yourself and your partner doesn't change the overall tax paid by the couple.
 
Be careful to split your credits and bands to allow full benefits from both.
If you split in a manner that does not make use of your full benefits you will have an over payment at the end of the tax year.
If this happens you would need to submit a statement of liabilities to get the over payment refunded.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top