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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Kieran Isgin

Martin Lewis issues 'urgent' warning to married couples ahead of April deadline

Martin Lewis has issued an 'urgent' warning for married couples and has provided clarification for those looking to save some cash.

The money-saving expert recently revealed that around 2.1 million married couples are missing out on their Marriage Allowance. The tax scheme allows eligible couples to save up to £252 in a tax year by transferring some funds from their Personal Allowance.

However, even after being told this, many couples are still confused about whether or not they can claim the Tax Allowance. Fortunately, Mr Lewis has broken down who is eligible for the claim.

Read more: Five things to do before the end of the tax year, according to a money expert

Writing on Twitter he said: URGENT pls share. Are you married or in civil partnership if so - Is one of you a basic 20% taxpayer? -The other a non-taxpayer (earn under c£12,570/yr) If so your likely due up to £1,300 tax back, but if you don't sort by Wed 5 April you risk losing £100s."

He then provided a link to a MoneySavingExpert explainer.

Martin added: "Many asking me 'We're pensioners can we do this', 'I'm a volunteer can I do this', 'I'm on maternity can I do this', 'I'm self employed can I do this', YES! It's simple, if you're under 85, and in a tax-year don't pay tax, then you can give this to your 20% tax rate paying spouse."

It means that regardless of your employment or economic status, as long as you are a non-taxpayer who does not pay income tax, you can make use of the scheme. You must also be married to someone who is paying the basic tax rate of 20 per cent.

Furthermore, even if you are not eligible this year, you can backdate your claim by four years. Therefore, if you were eligible in the 2018/2019 tax year, then you can still claim until the end of this tax year on Wednesday, April 5.

To apply for Marriage Allowance, you must head on over to GOV.UK and sign up for a Government Gateway user ID if you don't have one already. Afterwards, you can start the application on the website by answering the questions on the screen which will help determine whether you are eligible or not.

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