A viewer of The Martin Lewis Money Show has told how she was sent a cheque for £1,046 after following a simple piece of advice issued by the money-saving expert. Pensioner Jeannie told Lewis how she followed his guidance after seeing a segment on his show, which showed how married couples, or those in civil partnerships, could save money.
In a message that was broadcast during this week’s programme on ITV1, she said: “I saw your programme on claiming for Marriage Tax Allowance so thought I would give it a try. I filled in the form online but I had to send it off through the post, due to claiming for previous years. This morning we received a cheque for £1,046.”
She added: “Thank you Martin and team, this will help us a great deal as we are pensioners.”
Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner.
Your allowance is the amount you can earn without paying tax each financial year.
The allowance allows those eligible to reduce their tax by up to £252 in the tax year and applies when the lowest earner in the couple has an income below the personal allowance threshold – usually £12,570.
Another success story attributed to Lewis’s advice comes from Tommy, who said that claiming the allowance allowed him and his terminally ill wife to tick off a bucket list activity.
He said: “I made a claim for this year and previous years. I was amazed to get a rebate of £1,100.
“My wife is terminally ill and this money will enable us to tick off another part of her bucket list. I cannot tell you how grateful we are.”
Those eligible are able to backdate their claims to include any tax year since April 5, 2020, in which they were eligible for Marriage Allowance.
Gov.uk warns: “Your partner’s tax bill will be reduced depending on the Personal Allowance rate for the years you’re backdating.”
The allowance applies to those married or in a civil partnership, who do not pay income tax, have an income below the personal allowance and has a partner who pays income tax at the basic rate.
Marriage Allowance is not eligible to couple who live together but are not married or in a civil partnership.
Gov.uk warns married couples in Scotland: “Your partner must pay the starter, basic or intermediate rate, which usually means their income is between £12,571 and £43,662.”
