Marriage Allowance

mitch7765

well as its Christmas I suppose so!!!!

polymaff

mitch7765 wrote: »

I dont see why its incredibly difficult to administer. This was a back dated year. If they could have transferred the excess they would only need to alter 1 persons tax code not two. Even HRMC said to me it was a ridiculous way the government had set this up.

You are just so wrong.


Legislation is a performance specification. HMRC is responsible for the practical implementation of the legislation. It is they who are responsble for "setting it up".


With MAT - as with most legislation - HMRC have been grossly incompetent in their implementation. They've both ignored/misunderstood parts of the legislation and, by choosing such a deviant implementation, have generated quite a few situations where the resulting errors can't be resolved by going back to the legislation.


Whatever HMRC have said to you, HMRC are the ones who have seriously misunderstood and misdescribed both the legislation - and their own crazy implementation thereof - from the start.

Lee_Wilson

Can I claim marriage tax allowance if my wife is a student but doesn’t work?! Or is there any other benefits or tax breaks I could receive. I earn £33,000 a year and we don’t get anything (not complaining) just looking to see if I’m entitled to anything, thanks if anyone replies.

Consumerist

Lee_Wilson wrote: »

Can I claim marriage tax allowance if my wife is a student but doesn’t work?! Or is there any other benefits or tax breaks I could receive. I earn £33,000 a year and we don’t get anything (not complaining) just looking to see if I’m entitled to anything, thanks if anyone replies.

If you pay only Basic Rate tax and your wife does not pay any tax then your wife can claim Marriage Allowance. It will automatically be backdated to when the allowance was first introduced (up to four years) providing you were also married in those years.

Lee_Wilson

Does she not have to work? I’m confused. (Doesn’t take much).

Dazed_and_confused

What makes you think it matters whether she works?

Do you think fully retired people cannot apply for or receive Marriage Allowance?

Lee_Wilson

I just assumed we both had to work. I’ve just done it online and it said it’s processing. Fingers crossed!

Dazed_and_confused

You do realise that the person applying for Marriage Allowance can only ever pay the same amount of tax or more.

You can never pay less tax by applying.

By applying HMRC will check if you are eligible and apply the request to your tax records.

As you aren't a higher rate payer (based on what you've posted) you are eligible to apply even though there is no benefit in doing so. Expect a tax bill for about £660 if you have back dated it all the way back to 2015:16.

Consumerist

Lee_Wilson wrote: »

I just assumed we both had to work. I’ve just done it online and it said it’s processing. Fingers crossed!

You must both have a National Insurance number but don't both have to be working.

It is the non-taxpayer who should apply.

jimmo

Dazed_and_confused wrote: »

You do realise that the person applying for Marriage Allowance can only ever pay the same amount of tax or more.

You can never pay less tax by applying.

By applying HMRC will check if you are eligible and apply the request to your tax records.

As you aren't a higher rate payer (based on what you've posted) you are eligible to apply even though there is no benefit in doing so. Expect a tax bill for about £660 if you have back dated it all the way back to 2015:16.

What that really means is that your wife should have applied, not you. The person giving away the allowance to their spouse has to apply.
If you have applied in your own name then you will be giving away some of your tax allowances to your wife. Not good news for you and expect a tax bill which you can correct but it may take a bit of time.
It doesn't matter whether your wife is working or not. What really matters is her taxable income. If her taxable income is in the region of £9,000 or more then you really need to say what it is to get good advice.