Month: November 2023

The marriage allowance applies to married couples and those in a civil partnership where a spouse or civil partner does not pay tax or pay tax above the basic rate threshold for Income Tax (i.e., one of the couples must currently earn less than the £12,570 personal allowance for 2023-24).

The allowance works by permitting the lower earning partner to transfer up to £1,260 of their personal tax-free allowance to their spouse or civil partner. The marriage allowance can only be used where the recipient of the transfer (the higher earning partner) does not pay more than the basic 20% rate of Income Tax. This would usually mean that their income is between £12,571 and £50,270 in 2023-24. For those living in Scotland this would usually mean income between £12,571 and £43,662.

Making a claim, could result in a saving of up to £252 for the recipient (20% of £1,260), or £21 a month for the current tax year. In fact, even if a spouse or civil partner has died since 5 April 2018, the surviving person can still claim the allowance (if they qualify) by contacting HMRC’s Income Tax helpline.

If you meet the eligibility requirements and have not yet claimed the allowance, you can backdate your claim to 6 April 2019. This could result in a total tax break of up to £1,256 if you can claim for 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 as well as the current 2023-24 tax year. If you claim now, you can backdate your claim for four years (if eligible) as well as for the current tax year. Even if you are no longer eligible or would have been in all or any of the preceding years, then you can claim your entitlement.

HMRC’s online Marriage Allowance calculator can be used by couples to find out if they are eligible for the relief. An application can be made online at GOV.UK.

If you are having trouble paying your tax on time you may be eligible to receive support from HMRC. An online payment plan for Self-Assessment tax bills can be used to set up instalment arrangements for paying tax liabilities of up to £30,000.

Taxpayers that want to use the online option must have filed their latest tax return within 60 days of the payment deadline and intend to pay their debt within the following 12 months or less. Taxpayers that qualify for a Time to Pay arrangement using the self-serve Time to Pay facility can do so without speaking to an HMRC adviser.

Taxpayers with Self-Assessment tax payments that do not meet the above requirements need to contact HMRC to formally request a Time To Pay arrangement. These arrangements are agreed on a case-by-case basis and are tailored to individual circumstances and liabilities.

HMRC will only offer taxpayers the option of extra time to pay if they think they genuinely cannot pay in full but will be able to pay in the future. If HMRC do not think that more time will help, they can require immediate payment of a tax bill and start enforcement action if no payment is forthcoming.

When the end of a tax year passes, the 5 April 2024 for the current year, or the end of an accounting year if a company, any opportunity to take advantage of tax planning strategies closes.

For example, if the purchase of plant or other qualifying equipment is made the day before the cut-off date, tax relief will be secured a year earlier than if the payment was made a month later.

For individuals and the self-employed there is still an opportunity to review personal tax issues before the tax year ends 5 April 2024.

Every person tends to have different circumstances and so it is important to review those circumstances on a case by case basis rather than adopt a more generic approach.

Currently, there are cases where 2022-23 self-assessment tax returns have still not been filed. And if you are in that grouping, and we act for you, could you please let us have your records as soon as possible. But when the deadline passes, 31 January 2024, we will have two months to take a look at tax planning options for 2023-24 and take appropriate action if there are opportunities to reduce your tax footprint for 2023-24.

There is nothing worse than looking back, after the tax year end or company accounting period end and reflecting that if certain actions had been taken before those cut-off dates, savings or cashflow could have been protected.

So please, if your business or personal tax affairs warrant a review, can you call to organise a meeting – or set up an online meeting – such that we can brainstorm your options before these planning deadlines close.