2 jobs - how to assign tax credits

Not sure if anyone can advise on this - my husband works FT as a farm labourer and has a gross income of €22,000 approx. He is also a retained fire fighter - he is on-call and goes when needed. Currently all of his tax credits are assigned to his full time job and none to the fire fighting job. As a result he seems to be screwed big time in terms of tax. His most recent quarterly cheque was €6000 gross and he ended up with €2700 in his pocket.

What I wanted to know does it make a difference what way you assign credits - will you end up paying the same amount of tax no matter what or is there a "better" way of splitting his credits? We are jointly assessed - I work for the HSE and just have my own credits.

Any advice would be appreciated.

He will have a ceiling of 32,800 to be taxed @ 20%, so he should move 10,800 of his standard rate band to his second position. This will mean the first 10,800 will be taxed at 20% and the remainder at 41%.

If your husband has standard single tax credits, there will be no benefit in moving some to the new job as he will already be using them all. If he has the married rate tax credit, it would be beneficial to transfer €500 tax credits to the second position.

Thanks so much for the reply. If I transfer the €10,800 to the second position is that spilt over the 4 quarters that he is paid i.e. €2700 per quarter @ 20% and the remainder at 41%? Do I need to contact revenue in relation to this - and how helpful are they on these things?? Also based on both our tax credit certs he appears to have the married rate tax credit - but is there actually any difference? Sorry for all the questions - but I am really confused by all of this.

If you register for PAYE anytime,you can move standard rates and credits yourself.Post exact figures of both your wages and what credits etc you have for more accurate advice.

The Revenue helpline is an excellent source for sorting out issues like this. I have used them anytime I needed to change my tax credits and they have been extremely helpful.

Thnkas for the replies - I need to get exact figures to see whats going on with my credits etc. Just in relation to the revenue helpline - can they advise you of the best way to apportion your credits etc. or are they simply there for technical issues. I have used the on line service before and am registered but it's the figures bit I'm in the dark about.