Jersey’s move to independent personal taxation in 2026 will be the biggest change to our tax system since the introduction of the zero/ten regime over 15 years ago.

Replacing the current married couple regime with independent taxation has long been an objective of Jersey’s government.  However, challenges around disadvantaging couples in certain circumstances have delayed implementation.

While independent taxation already applies to those recently becoming Jersey tax resident, having agreed a mechanism to mitigate the potential disadvantages of migrating all residents to this regime Revenue Jersey have now confirmed that from 1 January 2026 they are introducing mandatory independent taxation for all Jersey residents.

This will change how couples are assessed for 2026, with spouses and civil partners (together ‘partners’) currently included on a single household tax return submitting their own returns.

Every resident will be separately assessed on their own income (or their own share of income), and will be entitled to their own personal allowance and deductions.  All residents will receive their own tax assessment for which they will be personally responsible for settlement.

Note that there is no change to responsibility for liabilities arising before 1 January 2026, including any suspended 2019 tax payable.

Compensatory allowance

This change may result in some married or civil partnerships paying more tax than under the current regime. To mitigate this, a compensatory allowance will be available to couples who were married or in a civil partnership before 1 January 2022.  Broadly, this allowance is designed to result in married or civil partnerships being assessed in 2026 as they would be under the current regime.

However, the compensatory allowance will be fixed at the 2026 level and will reduce over time until all residents are taxed on a fully independent basis.

The compensatory allowance will be calculated by Revenue Jersey when both partners’ assessments are agreed.  Where it is applied, both partners will still receive their own tax assessment and be responsible for settling their own tax.

Joint filing election

If a married couple or civil partnership are currently assessed jointly (and certain other conditions are met) they may elect to file one joint return.  Married couples or civil partnerships must nominate the partner who will file the return.  That partner will be responsible for any fines or penalties arising from late submissions.

Partners will still be assessed independently and be entitled to the compensatory allowance, and each partner will still receive their own tax assessment for which they will be liable.

The joint filing election must be made by both partners by 30 September in the relevant year (eg to file a joint return for the 2026 year of assessment, an election must be made by 30 September 2026).  The election to file jointly can be revoked at any time by either partner.

Disclaimer

This summary has been prepared for general awareness of the forthcoming changes to Jersey’s personal tax regime.  It does not constitute tax advice and should not be relied upon as such.  RSM Channel Islands accepts no liability for the content of this summary.  Specific advice should be sought from the RSM Channel Islands tax team.