Taxes divorced

Thursday 18 June 2020

The historic method of taxing a married couple's income together is to end with new rules approved by the States for all couples including those in opposite and same sex marriages and civil partnerships.

The States had already agreed to end the historic anomaly which saw husband's traditionally responsible for their wife's income - even if she were the only or main earner in their household.

Yesterday saw that legislation given final approval meaning the Income Tax (Guernsey) Law, 1975, has been amended so that every couple who are married or in a civil partnership will be assessed and taxed separately from January 2021.

Pictured: Staff at Edward T Wheadon House deal with income tax assessments. 

Previously, married couples could only be taxed separately if they had expressly requested so, and the husband had to give permission for the wife's affairs to be treated independently.

When civil partnerships and same sex marriage was legalised in Guernsey, the Income Tax law was amended so that the older partner in a same sex relationship would be the one responsible for tax affairs. That has also now ended.

Couples who still wish to have their tax affairs dealt with together, will still be allowed - whereby the unused personal tax allowance of one party to the marriage or civil partnership may be transferred to the other party.