68 INCOME TAX 
ground rents, mortgage interest (except on loans 
from Building Societies and equitable mortgages to 
Banks), or annuities secured on the property, for the 
reason already given—viz., that on paying these 
the nominal owner is empowered to deduct tax at 
the highest current rate. 
Married women separated from their husbands can 
claim as if single or widowed. They must show that 
the separation is a legal one, or, if not, that there is 
no reasonable probability of the parties returning to 
cohabitation. 
If they are living with their husbands, they can 
make separate returns, but any deductions claimed 
are shared proportionately by the husband. Prior 
to 1920, if the joint incomes were under £500, a 
married woman could claim total exemption or 
abatement on her own business income, but her 
property or investments were reckoned as the 
husband’s. This ceased with the 1920 Act. 
Minors, Lunatics, and Other Incapacitated Persons 
whose Incomes are administered by Trustees. — 
Whether a claim of abatement, exemption, etc. 
can be made at once or not depends, in the case 
of minors, on whether their interest in the estate 
is an absolute one, or whether it is conditional on 
something in the future—e.g., money left to a 
son, subject to his attaining the age of twenty- 
one, or doing something named by a certain date. 
If the interest is conditional, the claim must be 
deferred till after the date mentioned in the will 
or deed of trust, but it can then be made for the 
whole interval between the death and the fulfilment