Marriage Allowance

Dazed_and_confused

Brilliant guide. Took me less than 10 mins to complete on line. Got confirmation from HMRC immediately and got new tax code following day when I got into the office. Now awaiting my two cheques for my tax rebates. Thanks guys - what great advice!

I hope your post isn't telling the whole story. Anyone who applies for Marriage Allowance cannot ever get a tax refund because of applying. They either pay the same amount i.e. no tax, or pay more. Never less.

Plenty of posters on here who have misunderstood this and got in a right pickle because the wrong person applied.

And plenty who are expecting refunds for earlier tax years after their spouse has applied only to discover the spouse ended up with a tax bill because they'd forgotten that their income was much greater in the previous years.

User53

I am claiming my pension but still work part time, my question is, can my husband claim allowance for difference of my part time salary to personal allowance?
Is the limit on just earnings or earnings and pension? Thks

polymaff

User53 wrote: »

I am claiming my pension but still work part time, my question is, can my husband claim allowance for difference of my part time salary to personal allowance?
Is the limit on just earnings or earnings and pension? Thks

The total taxable income is what one should use to decide if applying for MAT is worthwhile.

Your question is very muddled. You understand that the applicant for MAT - there's no claimant - will not be better off? The spouse/civil partner who may benefit does nothing.

Consumerist

User53 wrote: »

I am claiming my pension but still work part time, my question is, can my husband claim allowance for difference of my part time salary to personal allowance?
Is the limit on just earnings or earnings and pension? Thks

As said above, only the donor can apply for MA. It transfers 10% (fixed) of the donor's Personal Allowance to their spouse (or civil partner). This means that the donor's allowances will also be reduced by the same amount. If the donor's total taxable income (including pensions, savings income, etc.) is greater than their remaining allowances then there will be a tax liability on the difference.

HMRC tends to automatically backdate the MA to the 2015/16 tax year, when the allowance was first introduced, so make sure you would benefit for all those tax years or else you will need to tell HMRC which tax years you want to make the transfer.

Purplehaze58

I no longer work and put in a claim to HMRC for the Marraige tax allowance. I stopped work on 31/3/17. I had paid tax for the 2 previous years as I had gone above my tax free allowance.
I thought they had transferred my tax allowance to my husband from April 2017 as before this we were not eligible to do it.
I’ve had 2 letters saying I owe £280 and £140 for the 2 years I was working as HMRC apparently refunded my husband these amounts for the 2 years I was still working.
I rang them and they said they had made a mistake and they should not have applied the Marraige tax allowance for the previous 2 years. And they cancelled the amounts they’d said I owed them.

My husband has now had a letter from HMRC stating that he has underpaid by the above amounts and has to pay it back. As it was their mistake does he really have to pay this back?

I wish I’d never bothered with it now.

Consumerist

Purplehaze58 wrote: »

. . . My husband has now had a letter from HMRC stating that he has underpaid by the above amounts and has to pay it back. As it was their mistake does he really have to pay this back? . . .

If your husband received a rebate he is no longer entitled to then he will have to repay it. Be aware that HMRC may also impose fines if the payment is not received on time.

MataNui

Purplehaze58 wrote: »

I wish I’d never bothered with it now.

Similar for me. If either of you is close ish to the limits then its better to simply not bother. I didnt know the exact upper limit but due to a bonus i exceeded it by around £50. So, now i have to pay it all back (including the student loan bit) which takes it to around £800 according to HMRC. I have no idea how the hell they arrived at that figure since i know i havent benefited by anything like that.

Pretty sure HMRC are screwing me in some way. To be honest i should of learnt my less on from years back with tax credits and self employment. Thats just an outright scam for anyone on a variable income.

Milligac

Can married persons tax allowance be claimed if your spouse doesn’t work at all please?

Purplehaze58

If your husband received a rebate he is no longer entitled to then he will have to repay it. Be aware that HMRC may also impose fines if the payment is not received on time.

Even if it is their fault that they paid him a rebate they shouldn’t have paid? It was them who messed up my claim for Marraige tax allowance. You expect HMRC to know what they are doing.....

molerat

Milligac wrote: »

Can married persons tax allowance be claimed if your spouse doesn’t work at all please?

Yes. I would imagine that is the case with a large majority, certainly in mine.