With effect from 6 April 2000, the standard rate band is £28,000 for a married couple with no child dependants, where one spouse does not have income, and where the couple are under joint assessment for income tax purposes. The standard rate band of £28,000 may be extended by up to £6,000 to £34,000, where both spouses are in receipt of income.
The Deputy queries the position in the case of a married couple where one spouse has a salary of £45,000 and the other spouse does not work outside the home but the couple has income from lettings of £7,000 per annum. The position depends on whether, the property from which the rental income is derived, is jointly owned, solely owned by the spouse in receipt of the salary, or solely owned by the spouse not in receipt of the salary, and will be determined by the specific facts of a case.
If the property is not owned solely or jointly by a particular spouse, then rental income from such property may not be returned by that spouse under schedule D for the purpose of obtaining the increased rate band.
The position in relation to each scenario is outlined as follows:
Property Jointly Owned
In this case each spouse is entitled to rental income of £3,500 per annum. The position in relation to the standard rate band is as follows:
