Married Couples Tax Allowance 2013

Married Couples Tax Allowance 2013.

Pressure from Tory backbenchers has finally led to David Cameron bringing forward tax breaks for married couples and civil partners.

Plans that were written in the 2010 manifesto allowed for married couples and civil partners to be able to give a part of their tax allowance to their partner.

These plans would allow a partner who was not working and paid no income tax to give a part of their tax free allowance to their spouse, but only if the spouse was not a high rate tax payer.

The new tax plans look set to be introduced later this year with possible inclusion in the Finance Bill 2014.

Our View

We see this as homogenising married couple tax laws with the rest of Europe.   Good news for married couples with those that have non-working partners or part-time, low earners, perhaps taking care of children. 

Of course, the devil will be in the detail, but the ability to move personal allowances around, it could save some couples up to around £2,000 per year in tax.