Married couples to save on tax

Lanarkshire lovebirds are among the nearly 1.8m married couples and those in civil partnerships using ‘marriage allowance’to save up to £252 a year in income tax.

And HMRC has revealed a change in circumstances could mean those couples in the area could now be eligible to take advantage of the tax saving - even if they have been together for years.

Marriage allowance allows married couples or those in civil partnerships to share their personal tax allowances if one partner earns an income under their personal allowance threshold of £12,570 and the other is a starter, basic or intermediate rate taxpayer.

They can transfer 10 per cent of their tax-free allowance to their partner, which is £1260 in 2021/22. It means couples can reduce the tax they pay by up to £252 a year; and they can backdate their claims for any of the four previous tax years, which could be worth up to a total of £1220.

It is free to apply for marriage allowance and the easiest way for taxpayers to check eligibility and make a claim to receive 100 per cent of the relief they are entitled to is via GOV.UK.

Angela MacDonald from HMRC said:“Marriage allowance lets eligible couples share their personal allowances and reduce their tax by up to £252 a year.

“Nearly 1.8 million couples are already using the service - it is free, quick and easy to apply, just search ‘marriage allowance’on our website.”

If a spouse or civil partner has died since April 5, 2017, the surviving person can still claim by contacting the Income Tax helpline.

Marriage allowance claims are automatically renewed every year. However, couples should notify HMRC if their circumstances change.