Assessable Spouse Election Form

Hi Folks,
My wife and I have been married since 2011 and currently I am the sole earner in the household (she has been unemployed for the past year).

We made a trip to our local revenue office about 4 weeks ago to complete the Assesable Spouse Election Form so that all our tax credits and standard rate band cutoff etc. could be assigned to me.

Since then I have not heard anything back and am wondering if someone knows the normal turnaround times for such a change to take effect in the system? Should I wait another few weeks or follow up with the revenue? I presume there is some sort of confirmation when a change is made to ones tax status?

I also recently registered for PAYE anytime and it seems that my certificate of taxation still treats me as being singly assesed. Does the online PAYE anytime system assist with assigning tax credits between married couples or is it more just to provide information on current tax status?

Also, if and when we are switched to being jointly assesed, is there are process to claim any tax back for the past year (my wide and I have been married since 2011)?

Thanks.

I would have thought that Revenue would have managed to update your details within four weeks. You should each receive an Amended Certificate of Tax Credits. Give them a ring to check on progress

You have registered up for PAYE anytime - you should be able to view your latest Tax Credit Certificate on the "Overview" screen as soon as any changes are made.

You can request balancing statements (P21) for the years 2011 to 2013 once you are "married" according to Revenue records - when they've made the changes both incomes and credits should appear on PAYE Anytime. You can make the request for the P21s on PAYE Anytime. Depending on your competence with tax matters, it may be worthwhile getting a tax advisor or accountant to check through the records before submitting the request.

You can allocate your tax credits as you see fit between yourself and your wife using PAYE Anytime. It's fairly straightforward.

There is a Revenue guide to the Taxation of Married Persons called IT2 - google it - I need to have made a few more posts before I can put up a link!

Hi Zacchaos,
Many thanks for your detailed reply. I double checked the PAYE Anytime site and although my wife's details are present in the personal information section, there is no option to transfer any tax credits between us. It simply lists my own tax credits similar to the case for a single person. We are also eligible to receive a home carers tax credit (800 euro) since we have a dependent child and my wife is not working, however this tax credit is "greyed" out so I am not able to apply for it online.

As you suggest, I will give the revenue a call to see if there is any progress on updating their systems to reflect our circumstances.

Thanks.