Urgent reminder to married couples to do quick five minute check or miss out on £250

MARRIED couples need to act fast if they want to get their hands on £250 free cash through a tax trick.

The money boost comes via the Marriage Tax Allowance, also known as the Marriage Allowance.

It lets you transfer some of your personal allowance to a spouse or civil partner if they earn more and lowers what they pay in tax.

Marriage Allowance for this current tax year is worth £252.

You can also backdate Marriage Allowance claims by up to four tax years, which means you could get a maximum of £1,258.

However, the deadline to claim for the 2020/21 tax year is April 5, so you'll need to act fast to get a free £250.

The Marriage Allowance in 2020/21 was worth £250, not £252, because the personal allowance that tax year was £12,500.

How does Marriage Allowance work?

Marriage Allowance is basically a tax break for couples where one is a lower earner and the other is a basic-rate tax payer.

In England, a basic rate taxpayer earns between £12,571 and £50,270 a year.

It lets you transfer £1,260 of your personal allowance (around 10% of £12,570) to the higher earner.

This boosts their personal allowance and sees them pay less income tax.

As an example, one worker earning £4,000 would have £8,570 left of their personal allowance and could transfer £1,260 to their partner.

If that partner earned £40,000 a year, their personal allowance would effectively increase to £13,830 (£1,260 plus £12,570).

It means they have a spare £1,260 they would have paid 20% income tax on, saving £252 for this current tax year.

Who is eligible for Marriage Allowance and how to apply

You need to be married or in a civil partnership to qualify for Marriage Allowance.

Just living with your partner and having children with them doesn't count.

You must both have been born on or after April 6, 1935, as well, otherwise you qualify for the Married Couple's Allowance instead.

Again, one of you needs to be a non-tax payer and the other a basic-rate taxpayer (earning between £12,571 and £50,270 a year).

If you live in Scotland, a basic-rate tax payer is someone who earns up to £43,662.

For the current tax year, you can apply for Marriage Allowance online using an HMRC tool via www.gov.uk/apply-marriage-allowance.

However, you can only apply for backdated years, including 2020/21, by post.

For anyone looking to get Marriage Allowance for the 2020/21 year, the deadline to do this is April 5.

Of course, this means you will have to have your application delivered to HMRC by this date – so you should act quickly.

More details on how to apply by post can be found via www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance/how-to-apply.

If you do get a claim in on time, you will receive the up to £250 either by bank transfer or cheque.

The lower earner has to be the one applying for Marriage Allowance.

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