Married couples, or couples in a civil partnership, could be due a payment of up to £1,242, according to Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis. Eligible couples could benefit from a big tax break, the latest email advice states, known as the marriage tax allowance - something 2.4 million qualifying couples miss out on.
According to the advice, in order to qualify for the payment, one person must be a non-taxpayer (so earning less than around £12,570 a year). The other must be a basic 20% taxpayer (so earning about £12,570 to £50,270 a year in England, or to £43,662 in Scotland).
The non-taxpayer can then apply to shift 10% of their tax-free allowance to their spouse. This is worth a sum of £252 this year and can even be backdated four years, adding an extra £990 to the overall total.
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It's worth noting that you both must have been born on or after April 6, 1935, or you'll instead be eligible for a different tax perk, which you can find here.
How much can I get?
According to advice from Money Saving Expert, marriage tax allowance for the 2022/23 tax year is worth up to £252. If you're eligible and successful in your application, you'll also automatically receive the tax break each year from then on, so you won't need to keep reapplying.
Money Saving Expert says: "In addition to the current year's allowance, you can backdate your claim by up to four tax years too (currently 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22). The amounts for each year are worth up to:
- 2022/23 – £252
- 2021/22 – £252
- 2020/21 – £250
- 2019/20 – £250
- 2018/19 – £238
"This means that if you claim for this tax year and backdate the maximum four years, you'll get up to £1,242 . You won't have to tick any boxes or make a special request for this – it'll happen automatically."
How and when will I get the money?
Advice states that it will depend on which year you're claiming for. For the current tax year, the higher earner will simply pay slightly less tax on their take-home pay.
Money Saving Expert says: "This is done by adjusting the recipient partner's personal tax code. The partner who transferred their personal allowance will also receive a new tax code, if employed."
It usually takes two days to get a new tax code, but when you'll see a difference to your pay depends on whether your employer gets it in time to meet the cut-off date for their pay roll. For example, if you get paid on 25th of each month and your employer gets your new tax code on 10th, it's likely to be applied that month, but if they only receive it on 23rd you might have to wait another month.
If you're self-employed, your self-assessment tax bill will be reduced as HMRC will take into account that you now have a bigger allowance.
Money Saving Expert advice also states: "If you're backdating for previous years, you will get a payout. You can either get it via a bank transfer or receive a cheque.
"If you've submitted your claim online, it will take around two weeks for HMRC to process and for you to see the money in your account. If you've submitted a form by post, HMRC says it will take between 24 and 29 working days after receipt to get the money."
How do you apply?
Before you apply, the Money Saving Expert advises you be wary of any search results if you simply Google 'marriage tax allowance', as some ingenuine firms will charge you for applying - it is free to apply, so don't get caught out. The next thing you need to know is that the non-taxpayer needs to apply for the marriage tax allowance.
According to Money Saving Expert, it is a simple application process that only takes a few minutes. You simply use the application on the HMRC website and you will need both National Insurance numbers and two of a range of different acceptable forms of ID for the non-taxpayer.
If you encounter any problems applying online, you can always call 0300 200 3300 and do it over the phone. It's also worth noting that you can only apply for the years in which you both meet the criteria and, if you want to apply retrospectively back to the 2018/19 tax year, you need to apply by April 5, 2023.
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