Married couples are being urged to make sure they apply for their £1,150 marriage tax allowance before the April 5 deadline.
2.4million people are eligible for the tax break and if you don't apply in time you could lose hundreds of pounds.
Martin Lewis's moneysavingexpert.com website says the rules apply if you're married or in a civil partnership - but you need to act now.
The marriage tax allowance allows you to transfer £1,250 of the amount you can earn tax-free each tax year to your spouse or civil partner, if they earn more than you.
That will mean they pay less tax - and can back claim the allowance for the previous four years.
You can apply if one of you is a non-taxpayer and the other pays the basic rate, so...
- You're married or in a civil partnership (just living together doesn't count).
- One of you needs to be a non-taxpayer, which in the UK and Scotland usually means earning less than the £12,500 personal allowance between 6 April 2019 and 5 April 2020.
- The other partner needs to be a basic 20% rate taxpayer (higher or additional-rate taxpayers aren't eligible for this allowance). This means you'd normally need to earn less than £50,000 or if you live in Scotland, £43,430.
- You both must have been born on or after 6 April 1935.
You will get up to £250 for this year, then £212 for 2015/16, £220 for 2016/17, £230 for 2017/18 and £238 for 2018/19.
That is up to £1,150 if you apply before April 5.
To apply, use the application at HMRC. You'll need both your national insurance numbers and a form of ID for the non-taxpayer.
Or call 0300 200 3300 and do it by phone.
It's the non-taxpayer who must apply to transfer their allowance.
