Up to 2.4 million couples could be eligible for a tax allowance.
Couples who are married or in a civil partnership could claim up to £1,220.
The marriage tax allowance enables eligible people to transfer £1,260 of their personal allowance to their spouse or civil partner to cut their yearly tax bill, The Mirror reports.
Your personal allowance is the amount you can earn tax-free each tax year.
For the current 2021/22 tax year, the tax break you can get is worth £252 - but claims can also be backdated by four years.
So in total, you could be able to claim back £1,220 - we explain below.
MoneySavingExpert estimates around 2.4million couples are missing out on marriage tax allowance.
Who is eligible for marriage tax allowance?
There is certain criteria you’ll need to meet in order to claim marriage tax allowance.
As the name suggests, you’ll need to be married or in a civil partnership.
One of you also needs to be a non-taxpayer while the other person needs to be paying the basic 20% rate of tax.
This usually means one of you doesn’t pay tax or earns less than £12,570, while the other person would be making between £12,571 and £50,270.
Other eligibility you must meet includes both of you having been born on or after April 6, 1935.
How do I claim marriage tax allowance?
Marriage tax allowance for the current 2021/22 tax year is worth up to £252.
However, you can also claim back for the four previous years too, providing you also met the above criteria in those years as well.
In total, the maximum amount you can claim back is £1,220.
Once you’ve put in the claim, it’ll count for all the tax years going forward.
The amounts for each year are worth up to:
2021/22 – £252
2020/21 – £250
2019/20 – £250
2018/19 – £238
2017/18 – £230
If you want to apply for the 2017/18 tax year, you’ll need to do so by April 5, 2022, as that is when the new tax year starts.
The person who doesn’t pay tax will need to apply for the marriage tax allowance.
You can apply online via the HMRC website or by calling 0300 200 3300 - make sure you have both your national insurance numbers and relevant IDs to hand.
If you’re applying for the current tax year, the higher earner will pay slightly less tax on their take-home pay.
But if you're backdating for previous years, you will get a payout in the form of a bank transfer or cheque.
