Transferable tax allowance for married couples

robin61

Hi,

I believe in a previous budget it was announced that in 2015/16 you can transfer £1060 in tax allowance to a spouse. My wife doesn't have an income and this year I will be a basic rate taxpayer.

Does anyone know how to go about actually doing this ? I've tried several times to search online and have tried twice to phone HM Revenue & Customs but they don't answer I just get stuck in a queue listening to their music. Have ran out of time 3 times now !

Thanks

getmore4less

THere is a thread only a few posts down this boards list.

robin61

Yes sorry guys I see the thread now

[Deleted User]

First you have to register an interest.

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance

When they get around to it they will send you an email with a link to a web page. On that page there is a calculator where both you and your partners incomes are entered. Clicking the calculate button tells you how much as a couple you qualify for.

Clicking the next button brings you to a page where it asks you if you have access to your bank accounts and credit cards. It also asks you for a photo drivers license or a passport.

If you don't have these then the process ends and you are advised to contact HMRC directly on the phone numbers provided. Lets say you have these and you click next.

Here you will be asked two questions. Answering both takes you to an Experian strong identity check. Failing this you get a basic gateway account. Experian asks you for bank account, credit card and the closing balances. They also ask for bank account numbers.

There is a list of 5 recent credit card amounts one of which you must choose from. Be careful here because they round the number, e.g. 371.55 will appear in the list as 372. The other problem is that your online card provider may not allow you (barclaycard do) to sort spends in ascending order so it can be tricky to find one of these numbers. Recent may take you back six years at least that is what Experian are saying.

If all goes well the next Experian page asks you to select two items from two lists. The next page confirms you have succeeded then a link is provided to return you to HMRC where you are asked to enter both NI numbers.

Having done this the process is finished and you get an email from HMRC saying the transfer will take place and don't ring them.

Couple of things you might do when you get that starting email. Apply for the 30 day free trial from Experian. The difference between this and the £2 snapshot you can buy is that they give you a credit score. Plus it identifies any forgotten bank accounts etc which you may be asked about. When you have done you can ring Experian and cancel the trial but it will still be available to you for 30 days.

Lastly, Experian give you a logon to your secure gateway not sure how that is done but it must go via the provider HMRC.