Any idea what a married persons tax code should be ?

Question

hi can anyone tell me what a married mans tax code sdhould be , only my husband works , hes on PAYE its a full time proper job we have 2 children , and we just wanted to know if anyone out there can tell we what it should be , it was 543L but in the last few weeks as changed to 603L , anyone tell us why this has happened and what these codes mean oi have read on the net the number means thats what hes allowed to earn before tax like 543 , or 603 , but i have also read its emergency tax code so what is correct ?

Answer 1

There is no longer married persons tax code

The standard tax code is 543L, you are getting extra allowances for something, HM Revenue & Customs should have written to you explaining the tax code, if not give them a call

Answer 2

543L is the standard tax code, it's what me and my husband are both on. It means you can earn £5430 per year before tax. 603 means you can earn £6030 before tax.

Answer 3

A married person's tax code is just the same as it would be if they were single. Children also do not affect your tax code.

The tax code refers to the amount of personal allowance (ie: amount you can earn tax free) he's entitled to. At the moment the standard personal allowance is £5,435 which equates to a tax code of 543L.

Following the abolishment of the 10% tax rate band uproar everyone's personal allowance has been increased by £600. Thus the new standard tax code will be 603L. This is supposed to be effective from Sept but looks like it may be being processed quicker than that in your husband's case.

Answer 4

The code 543L is known as the emergency code, but that is the standard allowance for 2008/09 (for now - It may well be upped again in Sept). Emergency is not a bad word in the context of tax coding.

The code 603L means you'll be better off, as you can earn another £600 tax-free annually. The PAYE coding notice advising you of the code change should detail how the code is calculated, it could be something as simple as your husband paid a little too much tax last year

Unless one of you was born before 1935 then you will not get a specific 'married persons tax allowance'.

Answer 5

Have you had an official form P2 (notice of coding)? This would explain how your husband's code number is made up. If the new code number has just appeared on his payslips, his employer is preempting the Government's back-track on the 10% fiasco. The change should not take place until September. Current code should be 543L, rising to 603L in S.

The tax allowance for children ceased years ago, but the child tax credits were brought in instead. When the married man's allowance was abolished, there was no compensation for those affected.

Answer 6

The chancellor has upped the personal allowance from £5435 to £6035 to be effective from September this year. A married person gets the same allowances as a single person, unless they or their spouse was born before 6 April 1935.

Answer 7

It's to do with how much money you get tax free.  I think I'm right in saying that as it's changed from 543 to 603, this means that the amount he gets before the Government taxes him is higher.  He should call the tax office and check with them if he's concerned.