personal finance

Tax allowance: ‘Free money from the Government’ – could you get a £900 tax boost?


The Marriage Allowance is, as the name suggests, something which may be able to be claimed if one is married or in a civil partnership. It allows a person to transfer £1,250 of their Personal Allowance to their spouse or civil partner, if the recipient of the transfer earns more. This can reduce their tax by up to £250 in the April 6 2019 to April 5 2020 tax year. In order to benefit as a couple, the lower earner must usually have an income which does not exceed their Personal Allowance.

The Personal Allowance is currently usually £12,500.

It’s possible to backdate a claim to include any tax year since April 5 2015, provided the individual was eligible for the Marriage Allowance during the tax year.

Tony Mills, Director of Online Tax Rebates, said: “It’s easy to ignore tax entitlements because they sound complicated, but you could have a lot to gain.

“By just being married, you could be entitled to free money from the Government if one of you is a non-taxpayer and the other is a basic rate taxpayer (20 percent).

“In 2019, the Marriage Tax Allowance is worth up to £250 and can be backdated up to a total of £900.”

In order to benefit from the allowance, one must be married or in a civil partnership, they must not pay Income Tax or income is below the Personal Allowance, and their partner must pay Income Tax at the basic rate.

This usually means that their income is between £12,501 and £50,000.

Mr Mills also pointed out other tax options – such as claiming tax relief for one’s job expenses.

“Believe it or not, you could even be due a tax rebate if you wear a uniform to work, giving you a bit more in your pay packet each month,” he said.

“If you’re required to wear branded clothing, you could be due a one-off rebate.

“It only takes a couple of minutes online to check using an online calculator.”

Gov.uk states that an individual cannot claim relief on the initial cost of buying small tools or clothing for work.

However, a person may be able to claim tax relief on the cost of repairing or replacing small tools which are required for a job.

Another instance is for the cost of cleaning, repairing or replacing specialist clothing.

In order to qualify, a person must use their own money for these things, and only use them for work.

READ MORE: Inheritance Tax rates: How to work out if you qualify for reduced Inheritance Tax rate



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