Martin Lewis urges people to check if they are owed hundreds before April tax deadline
Martin Lewis has warned Britons face missing out on hundreds of pounds if they fail to claim tax allowances before the looming April deadline.
The money-saving expert said people can claim back the tax allowances from up to four years before, and urged them to act fast before the financial year ends on 5 April.
In his latest newsletter, Mr Lewis said these include the marriage tax allowance, Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) and the uniform tax rebate.
He said: “With a number of tax allowances you can claim back four tax years before the current one.
“So that means when the new tax year starts on 6 April we say bye-bye to the 2019/20 tax year.”
Here we take a look at the four tax reclaims you could be eligible for ahead of the April deadline:
Marriage tax allowance
More than two million couples are eligible for the marriage tax allowance but do not claim it, according to Mr Lewis.
Married couples and those in civil partnerships where one person earns less than the tax-free personal allowance threshold of £12,570 qualify for this allowance.
The non-taxpayer can apply to transfer 10 per cent of their tax-free allowance to their spouse, saving £252 per tax year.
Once signed up, it is automatically paid every year. Those eligible since 2019/20 can backdate it for a gain of £1,260.
Payment Protection Insurance (PPI)
The deadline to reclaim missold PPI was 29 August 2019, which means those who have received a payment in the last four years could be eligible for money back on overpaid tax.
Those affected can claim back by filing in a R40 on the HMRC website. It can be complete online or printed off a posted to HMRC.
Check tax code
A tax code is tells employers what tax to deduct and features as a series of numbers and letters on your pay slip.
It is the responsibility of the employee to check they are on the correct tax code, not HMRC or employers.
People on the incorrect tax code could be paying more than they need to and can claim back any overpayments.
Employees tax code can be found on their payslip or by logging into their personal tax account on the HMRC website.
Taxpayers have until 5 April to claim back tax for the year 2019/20.
Uniform tax rebate
People who wash or repair their work uniform are eligible for an allowance to cover the cost, even if it is just a branded t-shirt.
The minimum allowance is £60 per year, which is worth £12 per year for a basic 20 per cent taxpayer, and £24 for a higher 40 per cent payer.
People can claim for the previous four years.
