Marriage Allowance

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  • Wellie
    Wellie Posts: 16 Forumite
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    I am getting conflicting advice/information regarding Marriage Allowance. My husband earns less than £43,000 and I am self-employed and don't earn anything I am purely registered so I can pay my NI. I applied online for the marriage allowance transfer which was accepted. My husband received a letter from HMRC detailing the transfer. The following day he received another letter with the amount not included. Naturally we were confused so he phoned HMRC. They told us the limit for the higher earner was £37,000. My husband said the website said £43,000 but the HMRC said this was wrong. We decided to leave it as we thought maybe his company car was causing the increase in the higher tax threshold. Last month I completed my SA Tax Return and paid my NI. Yesterday I received a letter from HMRC showing marriage allowance transfer. So now I have no idea what is going on; Is the company car an issue? Is the higher tax threshold really £43,000? And why does my latest tax info say I have transferred some of my allowance?

    I have no faith in HMRC as they can't even answer basic questions! I phoned last month to see if my NI needed to be paid by 31st Jan or by 5th April, again conflicting info on their website had me confused. The person on the phone said "I don't know." he then asked somebody else and said "We assume it's 31st Jan." I know my only option is to phone them again and find out what is going on wth the marriage allowance but the conflicting answers are driving me crazy and we never seem to get any further forward.
  • Alan_Williams
    Alan_Williams Posts: 1 Newbie
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    Hi out there, does anyone know if my wife who is from New Zealand, has an indefinite leave to stay visa in the UK, holds a NI number can apply for this as she does not work, I do and receive less than £15k per annum and I am a UK citizen. Thank you.
  • SamDude
    SamDude Posts: 435 Forumite
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    StinkyMonkey wrote: »
    What if someone eans less than £43K taxable icome but only AFTER salary sacrifice (for pension payments and childcare vouchers)? Are they elgible for the MA (if their other half is a non-tax payer)?

    Thanks


    Yes.

    It is based on taxable pay, so you deduct the salary sacrifice elements to ensure the salary is below £43k.
  • bertiewhite
    bertiewhite Posts: 1,904 Forumite
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    Wellie wrote: »
    They told us the limit for the higher earner was £37,000. My husband said the website said £43,000 but the HMRC said this was wrong. We decided to leave it as we thought maybe his company car was causing the increase in the higher tax threshold. Last month I completed my SA Tax Return and paid my NI. Yesterday I received a letter from HMRC showing marriage allowance transfer. So now I have no idea what is going on; Is the company car an issue? Is the higher tax threshold really £43,000?

    I earn £40k p/a, my wife doesn't work and I claim her tax allowance.
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 19,112 Forumite
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    Wellie wrote: »
    I am getting conflicting advice/information regarding Marriage Allowance. My husband earns less than £43,000 and I am self-employed and don't earn anything I am purely registered so I can pay my NI. I applied online for the marriage allowance transfer which was accepted. My husband received a letter from HMRC detailing the transfer. The following day he received another letter with the amount not included. Naturally we were confused so he phoned HMRC. They told us the limit for the higher earner was £37,000. My husband said the website said £43,000 but the HMRC said this was wrong. We decided to leave it as we thought maybe his company car was causing the increase in the higher tax threshold. Last month I completed my SA Tax Return and paid my NI. Yesterday I received a letter from HMRC showing marriage allowance transfer. So now I have no idea what is going on; Is the company car an issue? Is the higher tax threshold really £43,000? And why does my latest tax info say I have transferred some of my allowance?

    I have no faith in HMRC as they can't even answer basic questions! I phoned last month to see if my NI needed to be paid by 31st Jan or by 5th April, again conflicting info on their website had me confused. The person on the phone said "I don't know." he then asked somebody else and said "We assume it's 31st Jan." I know my only option is to phone them again and find out what is going on wth the marriage allowance but the conflicting answers are driving me crazy and we never seem to get any further forward.

    Yes, the taxable value of company car counts for his total income
  • Cherryred
    Cherryred Posts: 1 Newbie
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    Hi, the marriage allowance.
    I earnt 10700 2015-2016 tax year. I applied for the marriage allowance as it's been advertised everywhere and thought would give it a go. I received the letter from HMRC to say I owe them £212 in tax and it will be taken from my next salary. I feel a little duped. My husband earned 28000 so I thought it would turn my salary into 1060 less. But it added the 1060 on to mine. I called HMRC and the woman was very rude and kept repeating that I needed to read the website. After looking on here it's a little clearer but I'm still confused. I don't know now if what I did was correct. I seem to have to pay more back for some reason. Help please please please
  • Dazed_and_confused
    Dazed_and_confused Posts: 6,458 Forumite
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    For most people £10700 means you have to pay tax (just) in 2015:16 so by applying for marriage allowance you will need to pay £212 extra.

    I doubt very much it will be taken from your "next salary", more likely it will be taken from your salary each time you get paid for a year starting in April (amount each pay day will be approx £4 (weekly pay) or £18 (monthly)).

    If your husband originally paid the correct tax in 2015:16 then he should now be due a tax refund of £212 so as a couple you're no worse off but it was all a pointless exercise overall.

    How much do you expect it earn in the current tax year?
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 19,112 Forumite
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    Cherryred wrote: »
    Hi, the marriage allowance.
    I earnt 10700 2015-2016 tax year. I applied for the marriage allowance as it's been advertised everywhere and thought would give it a go. I received the letter from HMRC to say I owe them £212 in tax and it will be taken from my next salary. I feel a little duped. My husband earned 28000 so I thought it would turn my salary into 1060 less. But it added the 1060 on to mine. I called HMRC and the woman was very rude and kept repeating that I needed to read the website. After looking on here it's a little clearer but I'm still confused. I don't know now if what I did was correct. I seem to have to pay more back for some reason. Help please please please


    It doesn't reduce your salary by 1060.'

    It reduces your personal allowance by 1060 but increases your husband's personal allowance by 1060.

    So you pay more tax and he pays less.

    Transfer of Marriage Allowance is switching some of your personal allowance to your husband.
    It is of benefit to couples where one on them does not pay tax.
    As you pay tax you do not have any surplus personal allowances to transfer.
  • the_silver_shade
    the_silver_shade Posts: 3 Newbie
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    edited 16 February 2017 at 9:05PM
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    This hasn't saved me anything, in fact just cost me £300!

    I applied for it in April 2015 as I was a top-end basic rate taxpayer, wife earning just a few £k. Was awarded. So far so good. I presumed could now earn up to £10,600 personal allowance plus £1,060 marriage allowance plus the 20% band of £31,785 before paying 40% ie up to £43,445. All fine so far.

    I then had a promotion midyear - but was careful to put some of my salary into a pension, making sure that my post-pension salary was about £42.8k, ie a good £600 under my 40% threshold including the marriage allowance. If I had any suspicion that things were about to go tits up, I'd have saved more in the pension, but didn't think I needed to, I wasn't a higher rate tax payer.

    Fast forward to autumn 2016. I'm told that for the new tax year I don't qualify. Fair enough, I thought, I was close to the limit before anyway, one year's saving was nice.

    Then today, I get a letter from them. They now say that I didn't qualify for the MA in 2015/16 as I was a higher rate tax payer by about £400 - even though I'm only a higher rate tax payer if they take away the MA! Chicken and egg stuff. I have nearly £300 tax to pay as a result of the £1060 MA being withdrawn - even though I could have easily put more in a pension and not paid any extra tax if HMRC had their act together and let me know early enough.

    I'm going to try pursuing this with them but don't fancy my chances against the bureaucratic machine...
  • Dazed_and_confused
    Dazed_and_confused Posts: 6,458 Forumite
    Uniform Washer
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    Your original presumption is where you went wrong. Marriage Allowance doesn't entitle you to earn more before becoming a higher rate payer it just means you get a credit of £212.00 (for 2015:16) off your tax due for the year.

    If you are a higher rate payer you don't get the £212
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