to think the marriage allowance is an unfair tax allowance

[chomalungma]

It's going to be a thing over the next few weeks.

The Conservatives introduced it - in the coalition. I think the Lib Dems accepted it so they could get free school meals as well.

Great if you're married. You don't need to have kids to get it. Just be married.

If you aren't married, then you don't get it. Even though the money could be handy if you are in a couple.

Or if it didn't exist, then the money could be used to go towards education, Sure Start, the NHS, relationship counselling...all things that help ALL families instead of married couples.

Angela Rayner struggled to answer that question on Marr this morning whereas Corbyn gave a clear answer - stating it was discriminatory.

I think it will come up in the election campaign.

Is it unfair?

Lots of things are discriminatory if you look at them like that. I don't do marriage but if the government wants to encourage marriage then that is one way to do it.

How many of the 4.2m actually claim it though? I bet it’s not that many.

It actually mainly benefits the core Tory vote and it’s probably the reason why they brought it on. Retired people often have very disproportionate incomes as women either didn’t work or didn’t pay their stamp. There are lots of nil rate tax payers in the retired age range.

What it's for is to give a message that the government is pro-marriage.

That's it.

You can argue all you like about whether they should do this, or whether it's worth it, but the plain fact is that they wanted to state that Being Married Is A Good Thing.

How many of the 4.2m actually claim it though? I bet it’s not that many

I think it's about half?

www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/23/230-pounds-marriage-allowance-hasnt-been-claimed

It doesn't offset costs - it simply allows both people to benefit from their total personal allowance.

So why isn’t that available to anyone? Why jsut married couples? Why can’t I pass some of my tax free allowance to my dad?

but the plain fact is that they wanted to state that Being Married Is A Good Thing.

I’m assuming because it saves the government a lot more money somehow?

Now i think more on it, living alone is more expensive and low earners not in a couple. It really is an odd one.

You can argue it’s pointless but it is not sexist nor is it for the rich.

It is open to married and civil partnerships - so that covers opposite sex and same sex couples

One partner has to be within their tax free allowance and the other a 20% tax payer - so higher earners are excluded.

£2 billion is a lot of money to hand out.

From 2010 the basic tax allowance has increased by over £5k. This equates to more than a £1k tax advantage to 2 couple earners who can split their earnings over those who cannot. To add insult to injury there is ever more State subsidy for "childcare" which single earner couples don't use but double earners use to increase their earning potential and maximise their tax free allowances.

Atm a single earner couple on £25k is paying £3kish more tax and NI than a double earner couple on the same income. The double earners also have additional help with childcare (eg 30 hours) which single earners are not eligible for. Double earners have added security of 2 jobs and 2 lots of pension.

The benefit system taxes couples jointly whether or not married. However if you are married it is far more difficult to avoid this outcome. The marriage allowance in some way at least recognises this inconsistency.

I agree it would be better if the transferability was linked to caring responsibilities rather than marriage. However in that case it should be full transferability.

I was brought up by a single mother. She had an additional personal allowance to recognise this which I think was fairer.

It's fair, in fact surely married couples should be allowed to pool their finances like in other countries then are taxed jointly. It's very unfair that families like mine with a sn kid where one parent had to stay home used to loose the personal allowance, transfer just recognises that kids need a parent home to watch them (we already subsidise childcare through tax breaks)

@GrumpyHoonMain

It doesn't, you can't claim it if you are a higher tax earner

Marriage is such an outdated idea so it seems weird to me to benefit from it.

Why can’t I pass some of my tax free allowance to my dad?

Because you're not married to him.

You could say any benefit ought to be available to others in different situations? E.g. why can't I claim child benefit for my elderly parents who I have to care for?

Bereavement Support allowance is only given if you’re married or in a civil partnership. It’s shocking. Even if you’ve got young children or school age children, you get nothing at all if you’re not married. It’s much stingier than it used to be but at least it’s something- a lump sum and a set of monthly payments for a couple of years or 18 months. I know someone who was suddenly widowed with young children and they were very glad they could claim - because they were married. The law needs changing.

I don't earn enough to get taxed so we have claimed marriage allowance and why not? If you want it get married, if you don't want to get married don't moan about it. Simple. It's the same with any benefit.
Only people with children can claim child benefit, only married people can claim marriage allowance.

it just lets you transfer some of your tax free allowance to your spouse if you’re not going to use it.

So it's essential a legal tax avoidance (rather than evasion) scheme then.

Grasspigeons if you live alone you only have to afford yourself. That is a lot cheaper from getting on the bus to do the shopping to treating the family to the pictures and the chip shop.

Single people also benefit from a reduction in Council tax. The single person discount on our home is more than DH and I "benefit" from the marriage allowance transfer - we live in a 2 bed flat so not exactly a family pile.

f you want it get married, if you don't want to get married don't moan about it

Why should a couple who are married, whose children have left home, get money from the taxpayer for being married?

I get it's to encourage marriage because there is evidence that children from couples who are married have better outcomes. So it's to encourage marriage to help the children.

But if the children have left, or there are no children, why do they need an extra £250?

It's a ridiculous idea. Transfer that money to people who really need it rather that get it by virtue of having an extra piece of paper.

I will be way better off living with my DP than I am on my own - it seems so blind that a tax break should be given to people already making a saving from being able to share costs.

From what I remember, the problem Angela Rayner was having this morning was that Labour is saying that if they were in power only those earning £80,000 a year would have to pay more tax.

Andrew Marr was challenging her on that, because those who currently receive the married tax allowance will be worse off by £250 a year if it is abolished, even though they will earn less than £80,000. So basically he was saying that Labour's claim that no one earning less than £80,000 will pay more tax is untrue.

Angela Rayner couldn't deny that, which is why she was concentrating on making the point that overall those people would be better off because Labour was going to put more money into childcare, education, hospitals etc.

Single people also benefit from a reduction in Council tax

Single people may well be using less council services compared to a couple.

I don't think want everyone to pay the same council tax regardless of income or house size...

I'm quite happy to receive it!

If you want the benefits of being married, get married. Really do not want to see anything approaching 'common law' marriage, that's discriminatory against those who want to live together but keep finances and inheritance totally separate. The law doesn't need changing - shack up all you want, but if you want the benefits of getting married you need to get married.

Because you're not married to him.

Can you say duh?

it simply allows both people to benefit from their total personal allowance.

This^ is what I was responding too. Why is this “simple” option only available to married couples? Why can’t my dad benefit from my tax allowance if I want to give it to him? He has supported me loads over the years, including financially. In a way that he wouldn’t have needed to do if I had been partnered up. So why can’t I transfer my tax allowance to him?