Married couple tax calculator for Ireland
Married couples and civil partners in Ireland are taxed together: income tax is worked out on your combined income, with a bigger standard rate band and married tax credits, while USC and PRSI stay with each of you. Enter both salaries to see your household take-home pay and what joint assessment is worth.
Being taxed together leaves you €1,800 a year (€150 a month) more than if you were each taxed as a single person.
Step by step
| Your salary | €80,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Your partner's salary | €20,000.00 |
| Combined income | €100,000.00 |
| Standard rate band: married couple €53,000 + €20,000 for the second income | €73,000.00 |
| At 20% (€73,000) | €14,600.00 |
| At 40% (€27,000) | €10,800.00 |
| Gross income tax | €25,400.00 |
| Married person or civil partner credit | −€4,000.00 |
| Employee (PAYE) tax credit, you | −€2,000.00 |
| Employee (PAYE) tax credit, your partner | −€2,000.00 |
| Income tax to pay | €17,400.00 |
USC and PRSI, charged on each of you separately
| Item | You | Your partner |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | €80,000.00 | €20,000.00 |
| USC | −€2,430.62 | −€219.82 |
| PRSI | −€3,390.00 | −€506.38 |
Household take-home pay, 2026 and 2027
| Salaries | Take-home 2026 | As two single people | Saving | Take-home 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €50,000 + €0 | €42,848 | €39,648 | €3,200 | €43,164 |
| €50,000 + €20,000 | €60,122 | €58,922 | €1,200 | €60,533 |
| €50,000 + €35,000 | €70,782 | €69,582 | €1,200 | €71,187 |
| €50,000 + €50,000 | €79,297 | €79,297 | €0 | €80,679 |
| €70,000 + €30,000 | €78,297 | €76,497 | €1,800 | €79,176 |
| €80,000 + €20,000 | €76,053 | €74,253 | €1,800 | €76,919 |
| €100,000 + €40,000 | €98,904 | €98,104 | €800 | €100,226 |
| €120,000 + €0 | €77,884 | €74,084 | €3,800 | €78,595 |
PAYE employees, no pension contributions, no Rent or Home Carer credit. 2027 figures use the Budget 2027 changes announced on 6 October 2026, which still need to pass into law.
How joint assessment works
- One standard rate band for both of you: €53,000 at 20%, plus the lower of €35,000 or the lower earner's income, up to €88,000 in 2026. The higher earner can use at most €53,000 of it.
- Tax credits: the married person or civil partner credit of €4,000, and an Employee (PAYE) credit of up to €2,000 for each of you, limited to 20% of your own pay.
- Home Carer credit: €1,950 in 2026 if one of you works at home caring for a child you get Child Benefit for, someone aged 65 or over, or someone permanently incapacitated. It is cut by half of the carer's income above €7,200, and you cannot have both it and the higher band for a second income, so Revenue, and this calculator, use whichever saves more.
- USC and PRSI are charged on each person's own income, exactly as for a single person.
Joint, separate or single?
Joint assessment is applied once you tell Revenue that you are married or in a civil partnership. You can choose separate assessment or separate treatment instead, where each of you is taxed on your own income with your own credits and band. Joint assessment is never worse for a couple with two incomes, and it helps most when one of you earns much more than the other.
Under joint assessment, use Revenue's myAccount to split your tax credits and rate band between you so that each payslip is right. If you do not, they all go to the assessable spouse, who is the one with the higher income unless you choose otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
How much tax does a married couple pay in Ireland?
A couple earning €80,000 and €20,000 pays €17,400 income tax and €6,547 USC and PRSI in 2026, keeping €76,053 a year. Taxed as two single people they would keep €74,253, so joint assessment is worth €1,800 a year.
What is the standard rate band for a married couple with two incomes?
€53,000 in 2026, increased by the lower of €35,000 or the income of the lower earner, up to €88,000. The increase cannot be transferred to the higher earner. Budget 2027 raises it to €55,500 plus up to €37,500.
Do couples with equal incomes save anything by being married?
Usually not. On €50,000 each, joint assessment leaves €79,297 against €79,297 as two single people: each of you already has a full standard rate band. The gain comes when one partner earns much more than the other.
Are USC and PRSI also calculated jointly?
No. USC and PRSI are always charged on each person’s own income, so only income tax changes with joint assessment.
What about the year we marry?
In the year of your marriage or civil partnership you are each taxed as a single person. After the year ends you can ask Revenue for a year of marriage review and get back the difference that joint assessment would have made, for the months after the wedding.
Sources: Revenue: joint assessment, Revenue: tax rate band, Revenue: how income tax is calculated (example 4), Revenue: Home Carer credit and your spouse, Revenue: taxation after a marriage, Department of Finance: Budget 2027 tax policy changes. The engine reproduces Revenue's example 4 and the Home Carer examples in Tax and Duty Manual 15-01-29. One earner? Use the Ireland calculator with "Married, one income".