New tax break for married couples unveiled

1 min Read Published: 28 Sep 2013
just married
New married couples tax break announced

David Cameron has unveiled a new tax break for married couples which could save them up to £200 a year. At present it is not possible for married couples to transfer any unused personal tax allowance from one spouse to the other. But the new tax break announced ahead of the Conservative party conference will allow married couples (or those in civil partnerships) to transfer up to £1,000 of any unused income tax allowance from 2015

The detail

  • The new policy, part of the Conservative manifesto, will be introduced in April 2015
  • The tax break will not be available to couples where either is a higher rate taxpayer . From 2015/16 those earning over £42,285 will be higher rat tax payers
  • The tax break will help couples where one of them has not used their personal allowance at all and the other is a basic rate tax payer
  • Couples will have to apply for the benefit online and will receive it by summer 2016 (for the 2015/16 tax year)
  • 4 million married couples and 15,000 civil partnerships should benefit by £200 a year

But what can married couples do in the interim to save tax?

There are a number of ways married couples can save tax at present as detailed in the following articles

FURTHER READING

David Cameron announced the tax break in the following article in the Daily Mail - Marriage is good for Britain - and that's why I'm backing it with a tax break, says DAVID CAMERON

(image by By Tom Clare, freedigitalphotos.net)