Martin Lewis warns married couples to check if they are owed £1,256 in cash – nearly ALL who are eligible will gain

MARTIN Lewis has warned married couples to check if they are owed £1,256 in cash.

The Money Saving Expert said you could claim back hundreds of pounds worth of tax, but you have to act fast to get the full amount.

2

2

Marriage allowance is available to 2.1 million couples who are married or in a civil partnership, where one person earns less than the personal allowance threshold of £12,570.

You can transfer £1,260 of your personal allowance to your partner, reducing their tax by up to £252.

In addition to this year’s allowance, you can also get it for the previous four tax years – currently 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2023/24.

The tax break was worth £250, £250, £252 and £252 during those years respectively, meaning you can get up to £1,256 in total.

But you can only backdate it by four years.

During the Martin Lewis Money Show Live, he explained: “You need to do it now or you lose the £250 for that 2019/20 tax year.

“The backdated pay is by BACS or cheque. It’s literally cash in your bank account.

“Almost everyone who is eligible for this should do it because you will gain.”

You need to act now get the amount from 2019/20.

You could miss out on £250 if you don’t apply before April 5 this year.

Once you’ve claimed you won’t need to apply again, but you should let HMRC know if you stop being eligible.

However where the non-taxpayer earns between £11,310 and £12,570, there is a chance you and your partner won’t benefit from marriage tax allowance because of the way the tax is calculated.

In some cases, you could actually end up out of pocket.

Who is eligible for marriage allowance?

You can claim marriage allowance if all the following apply:

• you’re married or in a civil partnership
• you do not pay income tax or your income is below your personal allowance (usually £12,570)
• your partner pays income tax at the basic rate, which usually means their income is between £12,571 and £50,270 before they receive marriage allowance

You cannot claim marriage allowance if you’re living together but you’re not married or in a civil partnership.

You can backdate your claim to include any tax year since April 5, 2019/20 that you were eligible for marriage allowance.

Your partner’s tax bill will be reduced depending on the personal allowance rate for the years you’re backdating.

To work out how much you will get you can use the government’s marriage allowance calculator.

How can I apply for marriage allowance?

You can apply for marriage allowance for free online through the government’s website.

If both of you have no income other than your wages, then the person who earns the least should make the claim.

If either member of the couple gets other income, such as dividends or savings, you can call the Income Tax helpline to work out who should claim.

HMRC will then give the allowance you’ve transferred to your partner by changing their tax code or when they’ve sent their self assessment tax return.

Bear in mind that it can take up to two months to change a tax code.

If your new Personal Allowance is lower than your income after you’ve made a claim, you might have to pay some income tax.

However, you might still benefit as a couple.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk