Married couples

Married couples and civil partners: how you're taxed

Joint, separate and single assessment, the shared 20% band, and the credits that can and can't move between you.

• Joint, separate or single assessment?Joint assessment usually saves most when one spouse earns much more than the other.
• The 20% band for married couples€53,000 for one income, rising by up to €35,000 with a second income in 2026.
• Moving the 20% band between spousesUnder joint assessment you can move the shared band and most credits between you. The increase from a second income can't move.
• The employee credit can't be moved to your spouseEach spouse's employee credit can only be used against their own pay.
• Home carer credit or the second-income band?A couple can have one or the other, so compare them each year.
• The year you marryYou're each taxed as single in the year you marry. After the year ends, you can claim back what joint assessment would have saved.
• What separate assessment isThe same total tax as joint assessment, but each spouse pays their own share.
• Single assessment for a married coupleEach spouse taxed as a single person, with no sharing of credits or the band.
• How to switch to joint assessmentIn myAccount, under your personal details, or by contacting Revenue.
• Switching back to separate or single assessmentEither spouse can apply, usually before 1 April in the year you want it to start.
• Two similar incomes: does joint assessment matter?When you both earn above the 20% band, joint assessment saves little. It still lets you share credits.
• When a spouse goes back to workTheir pay brings an extra band of up to €35,000, and their own employee credit.
• Maternity leave and how you're taxed as a coupleA drop in one spouse's pay changes how much band they bring, so check the split.
• Variable income and joint assessmentWhen one spouse's income goes up and down, joint assessment evens out the household's tax.
• Rental income for a married coupleRent is taxed on the spouse who owns the property, but joint assessment combines it with the household's income.
• Pension contributions and joint assessmentPension relief limits are for each person, but the relief is at the household's top rate of tax.
• Civil partners and joint assessmentCivil partners are taxed exactly as married couples are.
• A tax checklist for married couplesFive things to check each year.