Marriage tax allowance: Millions urged to claim hundreds of pounds by cut-off date today
The scheme could potentially earn married couples or people in civil partnerships up to £1,300 in tax relief.
Married couples have been urged to check if they are entitled to a tax allowance before Wednesday's cut-off date.
The scheme allows married couples or people in civil partnerships to share their personal tax allowances and could potentially earn them up to £1,300 in tax relief.
But of the 4.2 million couples eligible for the Marriage Allowance, around half (2.1m) have not claimed any of it yet, according to reports.
They could now face losing £238 as the 5 April is the deadline to backdate any claims from the year 2018/19.
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Eligible couples can transfer 10% of their tax-free allowance to their partner, reducing the tax they pay by up to £252 a year.
But they can only backdate their claims for up to four previous tax years, meaning they face losing hundreds of pounds.
Consumer champion Martin Lewis has urged married couples and those in civil partnerships to claim their backdated tax allowance before it's too late.
Speaking on his podcast last week, he said: "This is urgent you can only claim back four tax years and if you do not do it by next week, the 5 April, you lose it and you could lose big money."
He added: “That's what you're losing and that's what you need to have in your need. Now, with the Marriage Tax Allowance, 2.1 million eligible customers are missing out as I said and to be eligible you need two things: in the couple, assuming you're married or civil partnership.”
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The tax break can apply if one partner earns below the personal allowance threshold of £12,570 and the other is a basic rate taxpayer – and couples who have been married for years can still qualify.
People can claim directly via HMRC’s online portal to ensure they receive 100% of the tax relief they are eligible for.
Even if couples do not initially qualify, a change in circumstances could mean they become eligible, for example if one partner retires or takes a career break and the other remains in work.
If a spouse or civil partner has died since 5 April 2018, the surviving person can still claim by contacting the income tax helpline, HMRC said.
The maximum amounts for each year are 2022/23 – £252, 2021/22 – £252, 2020/21 – £250, 2019/20 – £250 and 2018/19 – £238.
You cannot claim Marriage Allowance if you’re living together but you’re not married or in a civil partnership.
The HMRC confirmed more than 2.1m couples were currently benefitting from the tax relief and its previous figures from 2014 showed 4 million couples were eligible
