Is a jointly assessed wife liable for her husband's tax?

[Brendan Burgess]

A husband and wife are separately assessed.

He was self-employed and now has no income, so I suggested that they should be jointly assessed.

He is effectively insolvent and owes income tax from previous years which he cannot pay.

1) I presume that she would not become retrospectively liable for his tax debts?

Could the Revenue refuse to allocate his tax credits to her as a means of trying to recoup the tax due?

2) He will have around €5k in taxable rental income this year.
I presume that the Revenue will treat her as follows;
Married couple one income: 45,400@20%

Tax Credits:
Married person: 3660
Employee 1830
Total 5490

 

[DB74]

Revenue could refuse to issue the husband with ANY tax credits or cut-off as a means of recouping the tax owed to them when the rental income is returned.

 

[CXC]

On Revenue's powers to collect debt of husband - It depends on whether the wife is the "assessable spouse", however it is likely that the husband was the assessable spouse. If the latter is the case then Revenue cannot seek to collect his liability from the wife.

Separately, Revenue can reduce a taxpayers credits in future years to collect outstanding tax. They may well opt to do that