Tax Allowances and Marriage

[lastlid]

I have just had a chat with my employers accountant and evidently if and when my wife gets her visa and stays here, then we we will be eligible to pool both sets of tax allowances. It seems that if she doesn't work then her allowances can be added to my own.

I must stress that this is the Isle of Man so it may not apply to the mainland....

[Bluebirdjones]

Yes, doesn't apply on the mainland.

.... and as they've done away with the married person's (joint) allowance, it's even more annoying & costly.

[Terpe]

As BBJ says, certainly not the case on the mainland.
Must admit I'm stunned to learn that one individual can transfer their whole personal tax allowances to another when not working even in IOM.
I'd better send an another e-mail

[lastlid]

Not certain about whole. This came from a bona fide accountant who takes care of my employers affairs. But I will check. I never listen to just one persons advice.

[lastlid]

Theres a few differences here. I dont pay council tax for example.

[Terpe]

Theres a few differences here. I dont pay council tax for example.

I'm on my way to IOM for 2 years, then I'm off to Gib then finally Pinas, a rich man

[lastlid]

I need to check it out some more

[lastlid]

So if the ECO looks down my bank statements for Council Tax then he wont see it..............I hope he knows why?

[lastlid]

"My wife is not a nurse but she is connected to the care organisations." Terpe.

There are a lot of care organistions here......

[lastlid]

"Income tax is levied at a rate of 10% on the first £10,500 of taxable income and 18% on the rest. Individuals receive a £9,200 personal allowance. Married couples are taxed jointly and receive a personal allowance of £18,400, pay 10% on the first £21,000 of taxable income and 18% on the rest."

[lastlid]

I just checked this with the IOM Income Tax Division. And its a thumbs up on the pooled allowances for both husband and wives. , which is pleasing and for anyone else who might consider moving here.

Climate isnt like Gibraltar though.

[DaveUK]

Are you sure about that mate? When my missus got to the Isle of Man, I was told that she had to be resident in the island when the tax year starts for us to be allowed to be taxed together immediately. As she arrived in the May, we were told we'd have to wait until the tax return was completed the following year, and then we'd get a rebate if necessary.

As it was, Yam got a job a month later so the marriage allowance is basically pointless as there is no benefit being taxed together unless one of you is out of work!

[lastlid]

Hi Dave, yes, the good man at the IOM Tax dept said that it would only apply if and when she is here on the island. I see, so there might be a delay in setting it up. I understand. Cheers.

Thats good that she got work! Very good.

I was assuming that my wife would struggle to find work and therefore we would benefit from the pooled allowance.

My wife has a Phils degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management which is ideal for the island, but sadly very little work experience so I figured she might find it hard to get work......

[DaveUK]

Sadly don't have much faith in the IOM Income Tax dept after Yam arrived. First they told me it was ok and I could have her allowance immediately, so for one month i paid hardly any tax. Then they told me sorry it was a mistake, so now when I do finally do my tax return, I'm probably going to get a bill for the few hundred quid I didn't pay that month! Then a few months later I got a tax bill for over £4000. When I queried it with them, they realised they'd actually billed me for the tax year we were in the middle of!

If you're missus struggles to get a job in the hotel side of things, maybe try Tesco. Despite them saying regularly that there are no jobs available, new faces seem to appear all the time! My wife was a teacher in the Phils, but while she trains up to teach on the island, Tesco has been her employer while she's been here.

[lastlid]

Thanks. Nice tip Dave. And goodluck to Yam with the teacher training. Is there a teacher training college on the island?

Excuse my ignorance as I am not from the island, I am an impostor.

[DaveUK]

You and me both fella! Although been here over 20 years now!

Unfortunately, for Yam to be able to teach again, she has to take her Maths, English and Science GCSE's. Once she has those, we have to check if her Filipino BA in English can be topped up or if she'll have to do a whole new degree. THEN, after that she can apply for the official teacher training course!

I don't envy her as this is going to take at least 5 years potentially before she would be in a position to be a teacher again. I've told her that if at any point she changes her mind and decides to change careers, then I'm cool with that as none of the education she'll have done will go to waste!

[lastlid]

.... as none of the education she'll have done will go to waste!

Yes. No such thing as wasted education anyway. And no doubt the life in the UK test etc will be so much easier for her too.

[lastlid]

I havent got my head round why the Phils degrees are so downrated here in the UK. I looked through my wifes degree transcript and it looked substantial enough......any thoughts on that?

[lastlid]

Sadly don't have much faith in the IOM Income Tax dept after Yam arrived. First they told me it was ok and I could have her allowance immediately, so for one month i paid hardly any tax. Then they told me sorry it was a mistake, so now when I do finally do my tax return, I'm probably going to get a bill for the few hundred quid I didn't pay that month! Then a few months later I got a tax bill for over £4000. When I queried it with them, they realised they'd actually billed me for the tax year we were in the middle of!

I see. I hope it doesnt work out like that for me. I am fortunate to have the services of my employers accountant so hopefully he will ensure that the tax folk get it right for me.

Having said that I am jumping the gun a bit as the spouse visa isnt a forgone conclusion.

[joebloggs]

You and me both fella! Although been here over 20 years now!

Unfortunately, for Yam to be able to teach again, she has to take her Maths, English and Science GCSE's. Once she has those, we have to check if her Filipino BA in English can be topped up or if she'll have to do a whole new degree. THEN, after that she can apply for the official teacher training course!

I don't envy her as this is going to take at least 5 years potentially before she would be in a position to be a teacher again. I've told her that if at any point she changes her mind and decides to change careers, then I'm cool with that as none of the education she'll have done will go to waste!

it took nearly 5 longs years b4 my misses was able to work as a Doctor in the UK , started to think that day would never come

but tell your mife to hang in there, she will get there in the end

[DaveUK]

Cheers fella, I will!

At least her not being able to teach now is probably a good thing given the economy at the minute. The probable 5 years it might take my wife to be in a position to teach again will hopefully be long enough for things to start picking up!

[lastlid]

I think I have answered my own question now as I have been advised that I (we) would gain a handy sum if my wife gets her visa and doesnt work if/when she arrives.