Martin Lewis warns married couples to check if they owe £1,256

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

The Money Saving Expert said you can claim back hundreds of pounds in tax, but you’ll need to act quickly to get the full amount back.

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

You can transfer €1,260 of your personal deduction to your partner. This reduces the tax by a maximum of €252.

As well as the deduction for this year, you can also get it for the previous four tax years – currently 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2023/24.

The tax benefit in those years was worth £250, £250, £252 and £252 respectively, meaning you could get a maximum of £1,256 in total.

But you can only set it back four years.

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

“The retroactive payment is made by BACS or cheque. It is literally cash in your bank account.

“Almost everyone who qualifies for this should do it because you win.”

You must take action now and get the 2019/20 amount.

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

Once you have claimed, you do not need to reapply, but you will need to let HMRC know if you are no longer eligible.

However, if the non-taxpayer earns between £11,310 and £12,570, there is a chance that you and your partner will not get a marriage tax deduction due to the way the tax is calculated.

In some cases you could even come out of pocket.

Who is eligible for marriage benefit?

You can claim marriage benefit if all of the following apply:

• you are married or have a registered partnership
• you pay no 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 spousal allowance

You cannot claim marriage benefit if you live together, but are not married or have a registered partnership.

You can make your claim retrospectively and include any tax year since 5 April 2019/20 in which you were eligible for spousal benefit.

Your partner’s tax bill will be reduced depending on the personal deduction rate for the years you go back.

To calculate how much you will receive, you can use that of the government Calculation of marriage allowance.

How can I apply for marriage benefit?

You can apply for marriage benefit online for free via the website government website.

If you both have no income other than your wages, the person who earns less should file the claim.

If either member of the couple receives other income, such as dividends or savings, you can call the Income tax helpline find out who should claim it.

HMRC will then give the benefit you transferred to your partner by changing their tax code or when they have sent their own tax return.

Please note that it can take up to two months to change a tax code.

If your new Personal Allowance is lower than your income after filing, you may have to pay income tax.

However, you can still benefit from it as a couple.

Do you have a money problem that needs to be solved? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.

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