To think married couples should be taxed together

[OneAmberFinch]

Philosophically, I think it's a couple's business how they divide their responsibilities between earning and working in the home, and the tax system should treat them as a single unit.

I would extend this to tax on investment products as well: currently, virtually every serious product (available to the masses i.e. not custom family trusts etc) is in a single person's name. For example, there are barely any joint savings accounts that pay a decent interest rate, pensions/ISAa are in individual names etc.

If there were a simple way to tax jointly, I think more of these products would exist.

Why do I care about this? Because I think it would solve quite a lot of the issues that come up on MN w.r.t. money in relationships - "you can't take a 3-year maternity leave, or if you do you need to beg your DH to donate to your pension".

I don't think it's enough to just be able to inherit someone else's pension/savings - beneficiaries can be changed. I think throughout life, many couples would like to truly manage their finances jointly, but the tax system and types of financial accounts available don't make it possible.

For avoidance of doubt - I don't mean "wives should be taxed under their husbands' names", I mean "a married couple should be treated as a single unit".

What is it with people wanting to erase hard won financial freedoms for women?

https://www.taxandthefamily.org/history-article#:~:text=Under%20the%20system%20of%20independent,to%20which%20they%20are%20entitled.

If you are equals in a marriage/CP you shouldn’t need to “beg” your partner to provide for you or top up your pension, because you have discussed and agreed in advance.

I’m talking about straightforward healthy relationships, not coercive control or financial abuse…..I personally think your idea would exacerbate those dysfunctional relationships leaving the abused partner worse off.

If it was optional, yes.
Right to chose.

This happens in some countries (like the US). But there most people have to fill out a tax return. In the UK most people are taxed through PAYE and don’t fill out a tax return. It’s an administrative nightmare to do joint taxes through PAYE because how is your employer supposed to know what your spouse is earning this month?

That happens effectively when you claim child benefit (even when you are not married) and suddenly you are meant to take into account household income when at every other time you are taxed separately, and it's rubbish.

That what the married person’s tax allowance is for, surely? Granted, it’s only a portion but it’s better than nothing.

I wonder if you read my post just now on the thread about giving benefits to entice people to have kids (or something along those lines).

I am a SAHM (by choice) and therefore DH’s salary/income is paid into our joint account. He does a bit of consultancy on the side too so that’s why ‘we’ have to fill out tax returns each year. By ‘we’, I mean they’re DH tax returns but as I manage the finances, we complete the forms together.

DH really isn’t a high earner but we keep our living costs as a low as possible for me to stay at home. We currently have DD(1.5 old) and would like at least two more. To be honest having three isn’t for certain as it depends on how we’re doing financially in a few years. I’ll definitely be going back to some sort of paid employment once the kids get to school age but in the meantime I was surprised that my income status wasn’t tax deductible off DH’s tax (I think he might have got an extra grand tax free for us being married, but that’s barely worth considering).

We get £25(ish) a week child benefit, and I’d never want to rely on benefits but if we could have some more tax relief on the basis on how many people DH income was supporting that would be grand :D

It is nothing for most couples and such a tiny amount for the couples that qualify that it's barely worth it.

As PP said in most countries it's optional.

But I actually think our system gives LESS financial freedom to women who are not in an exactly equal financial relationship with their husbands.

The setup of same/higher-earning wife, indefinitely with no significant breaks for pregnancy or childrearing, is really unusual.

And yet all financial advice to women is pretend as much as possible that you do have that setup, never take time off or go part time, and "make sure you have a straightforward healthy relationship so you don't have to beg".

Alternatively - you just immediately have access to your joint ISA and pension because, well, you are one of the 2 joint owners of them?

You’re very naive OP

Yeah this saves you like £250, not material

No thanks. Though I am a higher earner wife who hasn't had any significant breaks for pregnancy/giving birth.

If you disagree that this should even be an option (I'm not saying it would be compulsory), do you have a joint mortgage/own a house jointly with your spouse?

Are you talking about transferring the non earning spouses personal allowance to the spouse who is earning? I know my parents did this when my mother was a SAHM.
People who run small or family businesses often effectively do this by making spouses company directors. It would be fairer if it was available as an option to more people.

Precisely (and any other necessary adjustments to bands, and to allowances for bank interest etc, to make it so that it doesn't matter which spouse earns each £, it will be taxed as a whole)

Here in Ireland you can opt to be taxed as a married couple. It can be quite tax efficient if one person earns less than the other.

Wouldn't the combined salary just be taxed more than two separate salaries as the non taxed bit would be eaten up sooner?

I am a high earner in single female. I think it would be unfair if my male colleague (and let’s be honest this will mainly be males) suddenly had a much bigger take home salary because his wife chooses not to work.

I was just thinking this. I’m divorced and earn £66k, with the portion of my household income above £50k falling in the 40% tax bracket. Whereas a married couple with the same household income but earning £33k each would only be taxed at 20%.

No I way
Women fought for decades for separate taxation

Nope - you are naive, It's how most countries in the world work, for good reason. Seems it doesn't suit the individualistic approach of the Brits though, ignorance is bliss.

I agree - it's how most civilised countries approach taxation, but in England 'I know my rights' brigade would be up in arms, as some of the responses show.... Rather be 'independent, innit', than fairly and proportionally taxed ( and I have no skin in the game, both myself and my husband are over the 40% tax threshold, but it would be fairer on single income families).

Presumably all the brackets would be higher for two people.

I don’t want to be responsible for my DH tax affairs. I like being my own person.

We get £25(ish) a week child benefit, and I’d never want to rely on benefits but if we could have some more tax relief on the basis on how many people DH income was supporting that would be grand :D

So you should be taxed less then me because I chose not to have kids, despite you using more of the NHS (not paying for dental treatments, pre natal care, the birth, post natal care), education etc?