STRAIGHT TO THE POINT

I TRADED my Vodafone reward points for a £20 Amazon voucher on March 4. I received a text confirming it would be emailed within 24 hours. I’ve chased, but it’s still not arrived. F. C., Ledbury, Hereford. VODAFOne admits it made a mistake. It has sent the correct voucher and given you an extra £30 as a gesture of goodwill. MY WIFE and I want to give our two sons £6,000 each. I think we are allowed to gift £3,000 to each child annually without risk of inheritance tax. Does the tax year run from April to April or January to January? R. W., Workington, Cumbria. ThIS isn’t quite right. You can give away a total of £3,000 every year — not £3,000 per person. If you give more than this, inheritance tax may be due if you die within seven years of making the gift.

Any unused allowance can be carried forward for a year. The £3,000 allowance is per tax year, which runs from April 6 to April 5. So, if you didn’t give any cash away last year, you could give each son £3,000 today (a total of £6,000) and then another £1,500 each (£3,000 in total) from tomorrow. A TEXT message arrived on my phone reminding me to renew my European Health Insurance Card. It gives a link to follow. How do I know if it’s legitimate? H. B., London. neVeR respond to messages like these — particularly when you don’t recognise the sender — as you can’t be sure it’s not a scam. It’s free to renew your card on the official website gov.uk/european-health

insurance-card or by calling 0300 330 1350. MY COUSIN deferred her state pension. Over eight years, she has accumulated £8,000 and now wants to take it. Will she be taxed on the lump sum? R. H., Prestatyn, Denbigh. IF YOU defer your state pension for a lump sum, rather than an increased annual payout, it’s taxed at the rate of income tax you’re paying on your other income.

So, if your cousin has no other income outside the state pension, the lump sum should be tax-free, as her income will be below the personal allowance threshold of £11,000 (£11,500 from tomorrow).