Q. Should I stop transferring married couple’s allowance if my spouse is now the higher-rate taxpayer?
A. I was born in 1932. When I retired in 1992, my wife was still working in a well paid job and I was advised to transfer the married couples allowance to her. My wife was born in 1950 and took early retirement in 2008. We now both receive pensions. My pension income is £3,000. My wife’s pension income is £26,455. Should I stop transferring the married couples allowance?
Arthur Weller replies:
You should not stop the transfer of the married couples allowance, because on your pension income, you don’t pay income tax, so the allowance in your hands would be wasted. But your wife pays 20% income tax, so the allowance is valuable to her. As a couple overall, you gain by your wife having the allowance.
