Single people pay a premium on everything from housing and food bills to tax and holidays
It has always been far more expensive to be single in Ireland than part of a couple, but the financial penalties of flying solo have rarely been greater as various measures rolled out by the Government in recent years benefit the twos more than the ones.
But how much less? Well, according to some estimates, a single person will have to fork out as much as €300,000 more over the course of half a lifetime than someone who is in a couple. By our own calculations, the financial penalty for being single could be even more severe than that.
As a result of the credit, a renting couple will benefit to the tune of €2,000 while a person renting on their own will get €1,000. When the rent differential and tax credits are added together, a single person renting a modestly sized home in Dublin will end up worse off by €13,000 in a single year.
A couple who live in a three-bed house can expect to spend €3,000 annually on energy. Assuming the bill is split evenly, the cost is €1,500 per person per year. A single person living in the same house, even if they spend 25 per cent less on energy, will still spend €2,250 which amounts to €750 more than each of the couple.When it comes to TV and broadband, the single person has to pay the same as the couple almost across the board even though they are only watching for one and not two.
A couple insured on the same car can expect to pay about €800, which works out as €200 less each than the single person.The tax code certainly does not favour the single person. Someone who is not part of a married couple and who earns a salary of €100,000 a year – which is by any measure good – will end up paying thousands of euro a year more in tax than a couple who earn €50,000 each.
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