Martin Lewis warns married couples they may be overpaying HMRC by £1,006


Martin Lewis warns married couples they may be overpaying HMRC by £1,006

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Martin Lewis warns married couples they may be overpaying HMRC by £1,006The Money Saving Expert has highlighted the Marriage Tax Allowance as millions haven't taken


advantageCommentsNewsChristian Abbott Audience Writer08:31, 04 Jun 2025Updated 08:31, 04 Jun 2025Martin explained how couples can increase their tax-free income by £1,260(Image: ITV) Martin


Lewis is urging married couples to make sure they're using all the tax breaks available to them, as two million eligible couples are not using the Marriage Tax Allowance.


This allows eligible couples to increase their tax-free income by £1,260.


‌ In turn, this results in them keeping an additional £252 that would have been paid as tax otherwise.


‌ Read more: Credit card customers can save £1,679 'before start of summer' with easy move


Additionally, you can backdate this allowance if you haven't been taking advantage of it by up to four years, meaning a maximum reimbursement of £1,006.


To be eligible for Mariage Tax Allowance, one partner must be a non-taxpayer.


Article continues below This means they earn less than the personal allowance each year, which is £12,570 annually for most.


Meanwhile, the other partner must be on the basic income tax rate of 20%, indicating their taxable income falls between £12,571 and £50,270.


During a segment on Martin's ITV programme, he explained: "People say 'What about if I'm volunteering? What about if I'm part-time?'... If you don't pay income tax, you're a non-taxpayer."


‌ Head over to Gov.uk to claim the Marriage Tax Allowance, with the non-taxpayer partner applying to transfer 10% of their personal allowance to their tax-paying spouse, amounting to around


£1,260.


It's also important to note that if the non-tax-paying partner is close to the income limit, it still may not be worth applying.


As MoneySavingExpert.com explains: 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 (even if you're technically eligible)."


It continues: "In rare circumstances, your personal allowance (the amount you can earn tax-free) may be different to the amounts above, but your tax code letter will tell you.


"This could be because you have a company car, you owe tax or your savings interest takes you over the threshold."


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