Man whose wife had affair and left home loses Revenue appeal on joint assessment

A taxpayer whose marriage ended after he discovered his wife was having an affair has now lost a tax battle with the Revenue Commissioners concerning his changed tax status arising from the marital breakdown. The Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) has dismissed the man’s appeal against a Revenue finding that he was no longer entitled to be jointly assessed with his former wife for tax purposes in 2021 following the breakdown of the couple’s marriage.In ruling against the man’s appeal, Tax Appeals Commissioner, Conor Walsh said he was “empathetic to the personal circumstances described on appeal” but the appeals body “is, however, bound to apply the provisions of the legislation”.At the outset of the 15-page report published on Monday, Walsh stated that he wished to acknowledge “the personal and sensitive nature of the matters related to this appeal”.READ MOREThe couple were jointly assessed for tax purposes but over time, their marriage deteriorated and, in 2020, the husband became aware that his wife was having an affair.In evidence before the commission, the man, addressing the impact of his discovery of the affair on the marriage, stated: “Oh, it ended there and then. As soon as I found out that this was going on, in my head it had ended.”Representing himself, he added: “I don’t think there’s any recovery from that but she stayed in the house after that, you know.”In 2021, the wife left the family home on a permanent basis and has lived elsewhere since then. The marriage ended in divorce in 2024 and, in 2025, having taken the view that the appellant and his former wife had separated in 2020 in circumstances likely to be permanent, Revenue concluded that joint assessment for tax purposes was not available for 2021.The man argued that he was entitled to be jointly assessed for 2021, contending that, in 2020, he was still married and in a relationship with his now ex-wife.Walsh found that the facts in the case lead him to conclude that during 2020, the appellant and his former wife separated in circumstances where their marriage was likely to have broken down irretrievably. Consequently, he said, the appellant is not entitled to be jointly assessed for income tax purposes with his former wife for 2021 and therefore, the appeal cannot succeed.