married couples tax allowance

pg245

Hello all,
I'm new to this forum so forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong place. I wonder if anyone can help with this question. I married in the early 1990's and divorced in 2000. Every year since my PAYE tax code statement shows I am still recieving the married couples tax allowance, even though it was abolished in 2000. Through laziness, forgetfulness and fear I haven't dealt with it. I contacted the tax office and they confirmed I should no longer be in reciept of this allowance but can't tell me how much I have to repay unless I give them my details. I'm reluctant to do this without some idea of what i'll have to repay. Can anyone help.

antonic

First and obvious question is ..

how old are you & your wife ?

pg245

Hi antonic,
Thanks for the quick reply. I'm 50

jennifernil

Sounds like a VERY BIG mistake! The married couples allowance is only for those well over 70 these days.


http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/married-allow.htm

Mikeyorks

How much is the relief shown in your coding?

pg245

Hi jennifernil, I know, the tax office don't even know why i'm still getting it.
Mikeyorks, tax code is 853T allowance is +£1400 which equates to £280, according to the paperwork.

Mikeyorks

How odd. Makes it sound as though they have a wrong date of birth for either you or your (then) wife.

If that's the case - depends where it originated from (if they can trace). The 'T' on your Code indicates there's something in it that 'needs to be reviewed'. Which is certainly the case!

If they can't clearly and unequivocally point the finger at you ...... I would be pressing for them to write off any arrears, except the current year, under the vague umbrella of 'official error'. ESC A19 is an alternative - if it can be demonstrated, however loosely, they had the information to do something about this earlier. No State Pension - repaying Student Loan etc etc .......... as at least a 76 year old is what I had in mind!

pg245

Thanks for the advice, it's worth a try, but I'm sure they will point out that as it clearly states on my coding letter that I am in receipt of the allowance it is my responsibility to inform them, and if i'm honest I think It's as much my fault as theirs. I'm happy to pay what I owe and get it straightened out, I'm just concerned about the amount involved. I don't suppose it's as simple a calculation as years x allowance. Do you know if there is a time limit on how far back they can claim against me?

Mikeyorks

They can go back 20 years if it's considered to be deliberate evasion .... which can hardly be the case. Otherwise it's back 6 years.

But I wouldn't give up easily. There's a whole raft of pointers that suggests gross inconsistencies. For example I presume you don't get the Personal Allowance (£10090) for those aged 75+. Yet that sits alongside the age profile of the married allowance! And (you clearly get regular P2s[Coding Notice]) I would think those don't indicate (probably Note 1) that your allowances are being restricted because your income is believed to be over the £24k threshold where clawback to £7475 starts?

If none of those - then they've had (don't forget also the 'T' on your Code) a number of opportunities to clarify / rectify it.

Incidentally - the Married Allowance operates at 10%. But - I suspect the allowance would be £2800. Which has been halved to £1400 in order to align with the basic rate of 20%.

Having got thus far - you need to give them the detail they want? But I would press very hard to get any unpaid tax prior this year written off - if they can't conclusively point a finger at you supplying incorrect data.

Do come back and advise how you get on ..... you may not appreciate the position you're in - but it is fairly unusual.

AirlieBird

It will be in the region of £2,830.

MCA would have been
2000-01 2000
2001-02 2070
2002-03 2110
2003-04 2150
2004-05 2210
2005-06 2280
2006-07 2350
2007-08 2440
2008-09 2540
2009-10 2670
2010-11 2670
2011-12 2800

and is worth 10% of the allowance in each year.

(edited to add: these are my calculations)

pg245

I could easily pass for 75+ some mornings, but no I don't receive any other allowances. This has been very helpful. As you suggest, the HMRC has had several signposts to a problem but have not acted or contacted me for information. I feel more confident now about fighting my corner. I will come back and let you know how it goes.
AirlieBird, thanks for the figures, again very helpful.