Does the UK tax system seriously discriminate against single parents?

[Porcelaincup]

Single parent of an adult child.

I am fortunate that, in the last year, my annual salary has risen to 50k. Personal allowance of £11,850, therefore I hit the 40pc threshold. Yet, if I was married and each of us earned 25k, we would have double the combined personal allowance and not hit the 40pc threshold. My mortgage and most household bills would be the same whether I was married or single.

Inheritance tax rules mean that when I die I can use the extra residence nil-rate band to leave a property up to 500k to my child exempt from inheritance tax. But if I was married, I could leave a property worth up to a million.

So. I pay more tax on my income than two married people with the identical total income. And then when I die, my child has pay more inheritance tax on my property.

AIBU to think this is discriminating against single parents?

Ok so same situation but one DC: the married couple doesn't get benefits. They would if they divorced

And your point is what, then? That single people are more likely to be eligible to receive means-tested benefits because there is only one person able to earn a living therefore half the earning power therefore likely less money coming in?

The suggestion that the system favours single parents is ridiculous. Single-income families would receive exactly the same, wouldn't they?

My point is that someone having no or little income will benefit from NOT being married (single or not).

If you earn 50K you still get child benefit op. It is scaled from 50 to 60k. Plus your liability is reduced by Paying into a pension
I also think that in some occasions being a single parent is a benefit financially.

Me and a colleague were doing the same admin job and wanted to go back part time.
As I was living with dh I didn't qualify for Tax Credits so returning to work was pointless as my earnings would have been eaten up paying for childcare and fuel.
Meanwhile colleague was living with her mum as split up with father of her child. She had a high earning new partner but was putting off moving in with him as she was currently getting 80% of her childcare paid for.
This was years ago and I am sure they are not so generous now.
So we are individuals for income tax purposes but not for much else.

Plus your liability is reduced by Paying into a pension

That's the ultimate in middle-class perks, though. For someone earning £60 000 and claiming child benefit, they can put £10 000 into a pension, claim £1 700 of child benefit, and be in effect getting 57% tax relief.

It's hardly tax relief when child benefit used to be an universal benefit.

Well, it was if you had kids. Those of us who didn't couldn't claim it... hardly universal, and just another example of the total and utter unfairness of the system

Yes and those children are the taxpayers of the future.

Curious and if nobody had kids who would pay taxes to pay your state pension and fund the NHS in your old age? It's swings and roundabouts, but by not bringing up children you've saved yourself hundreds of thousands of pounds over 18 years - vastly more than child related benefits are worth. Nobody begrudges you use of services funded by the taxes of younger tax payers when you are elderly despite not having fed, clothed, looked after and supported any of those individuals through the dependent childhood years, but you begrudge any child related benefits because you don't have a child?

catinapool I think you may have missed my point! I was continuing with the sarcastic tone of my previous posts, taking the piss to make exactly the points you have so kindly edumacated me on! Hence the and obvious idiocy of my post!

Sorry Curious ! I guess despite reading the thread I paid no attention to who said what

I do exactly the same - including having to apologise when I make the same mistake!

if nobody had kids who would pay taxes to pay your state pension and fund the NHS in your old age?

but that's never going to happen

I think the goverment should do more to help families and also single-parent families. It is extremely unfair that people are taxed as individuals regardless of how many other people depend on that income. In most other countries, couples are given the option of being taxed on the total household income, and this is much fairer.

It is unreasonable to charge the same amount of taxes on an individual without dependents who spends all their money on themselves, than a family breadwinner with several children and a partner/spouse who can't work because childcare is too expensive, or because he/she can't find a job, or even because he/she decided to stay with the children because it is best for them, as research has demonstrated.

In this country, families with single earmers carry by far the biggest tax burden, and while individuals enjoy some of the lowest tax rates in the western world, single-eaarner families are effectively taxed much more than in other countries (as much as 70% more, for example, than in Germany!).

Children are the future and with the decline in the population, it is wise for the country to encourage families to be able to have children and raise them without financial distress.

Please sign and share this parliament petition asking the government to base taxes on combined household income. This will also eliminate the inherent unfairness of the child benefit charge.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/216429

More info:
www.telegraph.co.uk/women/mother-tongue/8365211/Britain-worst-place-for-tax-burden-on-single-earner-families.html
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/11/single-income-families-inequality-workers-fathers-earnings

No I don't agree. People should be taxed as individuals. I think the benefits system is very favourable to single parents at the present time. So a lot of single parents simply can't afford to live with a partner as they will be worse off.

Of course you gave the right to your opinion but you haven't provided any reasons why you think that nor commented on the reasons I've mentioned why it would be fairer to allow families to be taxed on their combined income.

Sorry, I meant to wrote "have the right"

I completely agree with you and have been saying this for years. As a single parent we need to work more to provide than if we were in a 2
persons relationship. It is wrong as we get taxed more for the same household income.

Op I can see what you're saying. A two adult family would get two tax allowances too. 22k they don't have to pay tax on between them vs 11k.
I know many 2 parent families each earning over 60k who can afford to pay extra into their pension so that they still receive child benefit. On a single income your tax burden is already higher and outgoings will not be much lower - maybe one less car to run.