Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 1018

Election for assessment under section 1017

Section 1018 sets out how a married couple living together may elect for joint assessment, how that election may be withdrawn, and provides that joint assessment applies automatically where no election or opt-out has been made.

• A married couple living together may jointly elect in writing at any time during a year of assessment to be jointly assessed, and the election continues in force for that year and all subsequent years.
• Either spouse may withdraw the election by written notice to the inspector before the end of a year of assessment, ending joint assessment for that year and all subsequent years.
• Where no election has been made, the couple are automatically deemed to have elected for joint assessment unless either spouse notifies the inspector in writing before year-end that they wish to be assessed as a single person.
• Once a notice to be assessed as a single person has been given, joint assessment does not resume until the spouse who gave the notice withdraws it in writing.