Is it more interesting to get married or enter into a civil partnership at the beginning or end of the year?

Question to an expert

Would it be in my interest, from a tax point of view, to enter into a civil partnership before the end of 2024 rather than waiting until 2025?

Two people who marry or enter into a civil partnership cease to be subject to separate income taxes and no longer form one and the same tax household.

In this regard, two things must be kept in mind. In principle, spouses or civil partners are subject to joint taxation from 1^er January of the year of the civil partnership or marriage, regardless of the month of the event.

That you got married on the 1st^er January 2024 or you do so on December 31, 2024, you will therefore be subject to joint taxation in respect of your income for the entire year 2024, declared in spring 2025.

But spouses or civil partners can also opt for two separate taxes. Common taxation then only begins on 1^er January of the year following that of their union (for income from 2025, declared in 2026, therefore, for a marriage or civil partnership celebrated in 2024).

Income gap

On the other hand, being subject to joint taxation in terms of income tax is not always synonymous with savings.

For equal income, the sum of two separate taxes is equal to the amount of the common tax. As a general rule, it is only when there is a gap between the income of spouses and civil partners that the one with the highest income makes a saving.

The greater the gap, the greater the resulting savings, because the effects of the marital quotient (benefiting from two shares) are not capped.