Clubbing of Income

If you transfer an income-generating asset to your spouse without adequate consideration, the income it generates can be "clubbed" back into your own taxable income rather than taxed in your spouse's hands - specifically to prevent shifting income to a family member in a lower tax bracket purely to reduce the household's overall tax. Similar rules apply to a minor child's income in many cases. This is a genuinely easy-to-miss rule for households that informally move money or investments between family members without realizing the tax consequence follows the original owner, not just the new one.