To think mums should be able to transfer their tax free allowance to their dp's

[PearlyWhites]

And stay at home to look after their own children instead of being given tax breaks for childcare.It would also create more jobs as the now sahm's job would become vacant.

Each adult is allowed to earn (say) £7500 a year tax free.

If I continued to work and earnt (say) £15000 a year and my partner was a sahd I would have to pay £1,500 a year in tax.

If I could combine my and my partners incomes (as they ask you to do for most other tax related benefits and reliefs) I would pay zero tax.

Not a bad plan really as if we were both working part time in the current system earning £7,500 each neither of us would pay tax - the way me and OH are currently looking to raise our child although I would much rather work part time and he would much rather be a sahd we can't turn down the extra £1500 a year we would have with us both working part time and paying less tax.

Hope that makes sense x

• I would rather work full time sorry x

Yes only if they had a child together. I don't see how it would discriminate against people without children because it would be a tax break for parents as an alternative to receiving a tax break to pay for childcare. My the same token you could say child benefit discriminates against non parents.

Well now, I'm definately losing my childbenefit for DS and this one because DH earns too much, and because DH earns too much i'm not entitled to tax credits even though my income currently would be low enough, this means we are treated as a unit for some tax reasons, so I don't see why we shouldn't for paying tax too.

Basically what the OP is saying is a family with a £60k income that comes from one person early £60k while the other is a SAHP and economically inactive, should end up with the same income as a family with 2 working adults, both earning £30k (and the childcare costs argument doesn't follow on that because you could have two adults both working parttime so covering childcare between them and still having more coming in after tax).

I believe in France you are taxed as a household so they already do this, is that right? That seems fairer to me - arrange your career/childcare arrangements privately, the state just treats you for both tax and benefits as one family income pot.

I don't see either how paying twenty percent of childcare costs up to a total of £1200 is going to suddenly enable parents to afford childcare. I support a transferable tax allowance. This government seems hellbent on penalising stay at home parents, rather than acknowledging the needs and contributions of all well functioning loving parents, working or not, who are doing the best they can for their children in tough financial times.

I can't see why a sahp would need a tax break or what the benefit of it would be.

If you aren't paying for childcare then you can't get tax off your child care payments.

Agree with don'tmind. We get treated as a household when it disadvantages us and I get taxed as an individual.

But isn't it, or was, compensated by the working families tax credit, at least to some extent?

solveproblem - because as a family, they only have one income, so the working parent's income has to cover all family costs, supporting all costs of the other adult, the children and the household.

I would like to be taxed as a family.
We will have our CB clawed back because DH earns too much - that is taxing us as a family. I am ineligible for other benefits because of DH's earnings - quite rightly. It should work in favour of families as well as the government.

rebecca no-one is talking about childcare here, just tax.

Lueji - only if you earn little enough to qualify for that.

I do think that it should only be for married couples though, otherwise the system is open to all kinds of abuse and corruption.

DontmindifIdo
Ok, I do understand what the benefit would be to the family but not to the economy. Please explain.

Alibaba, we are in the same position. I earn over all the thresholds so no CB, no other tax credits, DP doesn't get any other benefits either as we are a couple. Except by your reckoning we wouldn't get this either, because we are not married- how is that fair?

I can't see any economic benefit either, less jobs in childcare, less income/corp tax from childcare providers, less income tax due to more SAHPs, less disposable income = less VAT revenue...

"We get treated as a household when it disadvantages us and I get taxed as an individual."

Yes, a little consistency wouldn't go amiss.

I think it would be reasonable to transfer tax free allowances, but don't see what children has to do with anything.

Oh I agree it shouldn't be down to children x

What about couples without children? If one partner doesn't work could their tax allowance be transferred as well?
Actually I think there are cases where one person is self employed and his/her partner is supposedly a company director (but in fact does nothing) and so gets a tax allowance on the partner's earings. Basically a tax fiddle. (I know haven't explained this very well)

I think there are cases where one person is self employed and his/her partner is supposedly a company director (but in fact does nothing) and so gets a tax allowance on the partner's earings.

This happens all the time. An executive invoices his £80,000 earnings through a limited company instead of directly. His wife is employed by that company as a "researcher" or "book keeper". They pay themselves £40,000 each. As a result, they get two tax allowances and they get to keep their Child Benefit - about £8,000 more than a single earner would get.