Martin Lewis reveals quick move that can net 2million couples £1,000 cheque in post before Christmas

MARTIN Lewis has revealed a quick trick that could see married couples receive a £1,000 cheque.

Speaking on his website, the money-saving expert reminded those in marriages or civil partnerships that they may be able to claim back money through Marriage Tax Allowance.

This allows eligible people to transfer £1,260 of their personal tax allowance to their spouse or civil partner.

To be eligible, one partner must be a non-taxpayer – earning under £12,570.

The other needs to pay a basic 20% basic tax rate – which applies to earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 in the UK.

If these conditions are met, the non-taxpayer is entitled to transfer 10% of their tax-free allowance to the taxpayer – meaning less tax is paid overall.

This could result in a tax refund of up to £252 for around two million couples across the UK.

And, in even better news, the refund can be backdated up to four years – meaning families could be receiving a cheque of over £1,000.

Mr Lewis said: “Claiming tax allowances isn’t traditional Christmas fare, but it is a quick way for two million eligible couples not currently claiming to get an up to £1,260 tax refund.”

Government figures show that 2.28million couples applied for the benefit in 2022/23 year.

And HMRC estimates that a whopping 2.1 million may be missing out – despite being eligible.

Steve Webb, partner at pension consultants LCP, told The Sun that the benefit is “well worth claiming”.

He added that with personal allowances frozen until 2026, couples should be sure to “access all the tax-free income that they can”.

How to apply for marriage allowance

You can apply for marriage allowance online by visiting the gov.uk website, and it is free to do so.

The person who earns the least should make the claim.

However, if either of you gets other income, such as dividends or savings, you may need to work out who should claim.

You can call the Income Tax helpline if you’re unsure.

Changes to your personal allowances will be backdated to the start of the tax year, which is April 6, if your application is successful.

To be eligible for the allowance the following must apply to your and your spouse:

• You’re married or in a civil partnership.
• You do not pay income tax or your income is below your personal allowance (usually £12,570)
• Your partner pays Income Tax at the basic rate, which usually means their income is between £12,571 and £50,270 before they receive Marriage Allowance

If you only pay income tax at the basic rate and believe you’ve been wrongly denied marriage tax allowance, you can appeal the decision directly to HMRC.

You and your partner will get new tax codes that reflect the transferred allowance.

Your tax code will end with ‘M’ if you are receiving the allowance and ‘N’ if you are transferring the allowance.

You can read more about tax codes and how they work here.

You’ll need to call the marriage allowance enquiries helpline to speak to an agent and explain the issue.

You must cancel your claim for marriage allowance if you and your partner divorce or your income changes. You can do this online.