In an effort to be ever topical in the run up to Valentine’s day HMRC are reminding thousands of married couples and civil partners that they could be missing out on the chance to pay less tax.
Almost 185,000 eligible couples can still apply for Marriage Allowance, boosting the average family’s finances by £212 each year to help with bills or pay for a Valentine’s Day treat.
HMRC has simplified the process to apply and couples can apply online at gov.uk/marriage-allowance in a matter of minutes. Couples will be given up to four years to claim backdated annual allowances to ensure as many as possible don’t miss out.
Everyone has a tax-free personal allowance of £10,600 and no tax is due on income up to this amount. The Marriage Allowance allows a spouse or civil partner who earns less than their personal allowance to transfer £1,060 of it to their partner – as long as their partner doesn’t pay more than the basic rate of Income Tax.
About four million married couples, including around 15,000 civil partnerships, stand to benefit from the Marriage Allowance, which was introduced in April 2015.
