Marriage Allowance

Caryne

sheramber wrote: »

Your husband does not apply for the allowance. You apply to transfer it to him.

Any repayment due for 2015/16 will be due to your husband,

You cannot get information about your husband's tax unless he has authorised it with HMRC.

Your husband will need to ask HMRC what is happening about last year but 'a few weeks' at this time of year may not be long enough for it to be processed yet.

With the greatest respect, you have not read the question I asked. I know I apply for the allowance, as I said, I have already done that and this year's allowance has already been paid to him and his tax code changed. What I am asking is how long does it normally take for the allowance for last year to be paid and is is paid automatically? On the information about the website here it clearly says that it will be paid by cheque to the higher tax payer. As no cheque has yet arrived yet I went back to the Gov.Uk website and spoke to an online adviser who told me that my husband would have to apply again for last years allowance to be paid to him, this differs from the information that is shown on this website and that I have read elsewhere. My question is, quite simple, does this allowance need to be claimed again for last year or, as it says on here, will it be, eventually, sent to my husband as a cheque.

Caryne

Consumerist wrote: »

If you have applied to transfer the allowance to your husband then your husband cannot re-apply for it; only you could do that.

If your husband has not received a refund as a result of your transfer then he should apply to HMRC for a repayment of overpaid tax in the 2015/16 tax year. It is possible, for example, that he owed some tax for that year and HMRC has taken the money from the refund he otherwise could have expected.

Thank you for your reply but my husband is PAYE so it is highly unlikely that he owed any tax for last year.

I am aware that my husband does not apply for the allowance, I have already done so as I am the lower taxpayer. My question was about clarifying information that I have been told today by a online advisor on the UK.Gov page which differs from what is on the information about this allowance on here.

Consumerist

Caryne wrote: »

. . . this year's allowance has already been paid to him and his tax code changed. What I am asking is how long does it normally take for the allowance for last year to be paid and is is paid automatically? . . .

I think you may be a little confused. Or I am !

Only last year's allowance (2015/16) could have been paid as a cash refund. This year's allowance will be paid only through changes to your tax codes i.e. the tax relief will be received throughout the year as lower tax payments from his pay packets.

Caryne

No, you are confused. When a person applies for the Marriage Allowance the HMRC sends the new tax code to their partner's employers. This is then applied to their salary so, at the next pay date, the tax is adjusted accordingly and, in that way, the tax for this year becomes correct and, for that particular month, the partner will pay much less tax. This has already happened in my husband's case.

For the previous tax year, 2015-2016, when a full year's allowance is owed, then I understood, from this site and other places, that the higher earner, my husband in this case, would be sent a cheque to cover the allowance for that year. My question is (a) does this cheque get sent automatically and (b) how long have others take to receive it?

Consumerist

Caryne wrote: »

. . . My question is (a) does this cheque get sent automatically and (b) how long have others take to receive it?

In my case (a) it was sent automatically and (b) it was sent within days.

This was over a year ago when HMRC seemed to be on top of the situation. These days, now word is spreading about the allowance, it seems to be taking a good deal longer.

A suggested earlier, your husband should claim repayment of overpaid tax for 2015/16.

Caryne

According to the information on here, and elsewhere online, a cheque should be sent out, to the higher earner, for the period 2015-2016. As I have already made this claim, as it's the lower earner who has to do it, then I am baffled why my husband should need to ask again for something that has already been applied for.

Is there anyone here who has made a claim THIS YEAR who can tell me how it has worked for them?

Dazed_and_confused

Hubby could try logging into his personal tax account on gov.uk and checking what that shows for him for last year.

It may be the new tax code has arrived quicker than the refund for last year and if a refund is definitely due he can arrange for it to be paid direct into his bank account through his personal tax account rather than wait for a cheque.

If the personal account doesn't help probably best for hubby to phone and ask why the refund hasn't been paid yet, as you have said he doesn't need to apply or do anything else, only you could do that as the lower earner.

Out of interest how much did he earn last year, there are rules which mean higher earners cannot benefit from the marriage allowance, could this be an issue for hubby?

p00hsticks

Consumerist wrote: »

In my case (a) it was sent automatically and (b) it was sent within days.

This was over a year ago when HMRC seemed to be on top of the situation. These days, now word is spreading about the allowance, it seems to be taking a good deal longer.

Are you sure it was over a year ago ? Marriage Allowance was only introduced in April 2015, so any cheque payment you received pre April 2016 would have to have been for the current rather than a previous year. which is different to Caryne's scenario.

Caryne

Dazed and confused - my husband doesn't have a personal tax account anywhere online, he's always worked PAYE and never had the need to set one up.
Sadly, for us, he certainly didn't earn anything like the upper limit for the marriage allowance in 2015-2016 or, in fact at any time in his life.

xylophone

my husband doesn't have a personal tax account

https://www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account