Dominic Coyleanswers your questions.

Ways for spouses to be assessed

I use the Revenue's online filing service and this time there was a question about whether myself and my wife wanted to be assessed jointly or separately. We are both self-employed with pension incomes as well. Could you outline the difference(s) between the two methods? Is there a handy url which explains it?

Mr BM, e-mail

If you think the two options you raise are confusing, imagine what it would be like with three . . . and there are. Alan Murray, tax director at Mazars, reminds me that a married couple can be assessed jointly, separately or singly.

Basically, with joint assessment, you file one return between you, including all income and credits applicable to either of you. As both of you work, your standard rate band under joint assessment will be €70,800, or €44,400 plus the income of the lower-paid spouse, whichever is the lower figure.

Under joint assessment, the standard rate tax band as well as any unused tax credits can be transferred between the spouses. This makes joint assessment the most advantageous system for couples where one spouse does not use their entire standard rate band.

Essentially, the same rules apply to separate assessment - with the key exception that each spouse must file their own tax return. However, you are still entitled to transfer the standard rate band and certain unused tax credits. Generally, you will find that the tax paid by your wife and yourself is the same under either of these regimes.

Single assessment, however, is different. Not only do you file separately, but you are also not entitled to transfer credits or unused portions of the standard rate band on your joint income.

Alan advises that married couples filing under single assessment should review their position as they could be paying more tax than they would under joint or separate assessment.

He notes that the Revenue publishes a guide, Taxation for Married Couples, which can be found online at www.revenue.ie/ leaflets/it2.pdf, or from your local tax office.

Minmet shares

We bought several thousand euros worth of Minmet shares through Davy stockbrokers - a lot of money to us. Minmet have recently simply "suspended" trading of its shares and may or may not trade them some time "in the future". Can you tell us how Minmet can simply do this and if our money is gone? Any advice on what to do to get our money back greatly appreciated.

BD, Dublin.

Minmet is an Irish-based and British- listed player in the oil and gas exploration business. As such, it is one of the more high-risk investments an investor might make.

There are two readings of your current situation.

Either, you could consider yourself unlucky in your timing in entering the stock before it was suspended last December for what is expected to be a protracted period, or you could be considered lucky that the Minmet shares were suspended before the turmoil of January 2008 that might well have undermined your investment.

My view is that if the several thousands you invested in this company is "a lot of money to us", as you state, you should not have been getting into Irish exploration stocks or been so advised.

The situation with Minmet is particularly tricky. The company initially planned a reverse takeover of Alaska Oil & Gas Resources only to back out and look instead at a reverse takeover of Mexican firm Tuccumcari Exploration.

A reverse takeover is where a smaller publicly listed company takes over a larger group.

If this larger group is unlisted, as appears to be the case with both Alaska Oil & Gas resources Ltd and with Tuccumcari Exploration, the unlisted group gains control of a listing without having to go through the normal listing process.

Minmet is clearly in at least two minds as to what it should do. However, it will eventually have to return to shareholders to get their approval for any reverse takeover.

In your case, Minmet is on record as saying it envisages a suspension lasting several months before it puts any case before shareholders. However, there is no inference that the shares will not eventually list.

In the meantime, unless you or your broker can find a willing buyer, you are stuck with this stock. On the plus side, however, at least equity markets may have stabilised by then.

• Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by e-mail to dcoyle@irish-times.ie.

This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice. Due to the volume of mail, there may be a delay in answering queries. All suitable queries will be answered through the columns of the newspaper. No personal correspondence will be entered into.