Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 1016

Assessment as single persons

Section 1016 provides for the separate treatment (single assessment) of married couples living together, under which each spouse is assessed and charged to income tax on his or her own income as if they were not married.

• Where a married couple are living together, each spouse is assessed and charged to income tax individually on his or her own income, as if they were unmarried.
• Each spouse receives the tax credits and standard rate band of a single person, pays his or her own tax, and files his or her own return.
• If the couple have elected for joint assessment under section 1018, the separate treatment rules in this section do not apply for that year of assessment.
• Under separate treatment, unused tax credits, reliefs, and rate bands cannot be transferred between spouses, which may result in a higher combined tax liability than under joint or separate assessment.