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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Tamara Davison

Martin Lewis's tax allowance warning ahead of April 5

Hundreds of people sitting on unclaimed tax benefits may lose the chance to claim their money in just a few weeks’ time.

April 5 marks the end of the tax year, meaning the deadline for getting your financial paperwork in order is imminent.

The money-saving expert Martin Lewis has shared a useful newsletter ahead of April 5 to help people get their tax allowance claims in ahead of the deadline.

If not, you could risk missing out on financial benefits that are rightfully yours at a time when every penny counts.

Lewis revealed that a lot of people may be eligible for marriage tax allowance, uniform rebates, and Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) payouts.

However, not everyone is aware of how to claim these financial benefits – with 2.1 million married couples missing out on the Marriage Tax Allowance alone.

Here are some of the tax allowances that you can benefit from if you act fast.

1. Marriage Tax Allowance

According to Martin Lewis, couples that are married or in a civil partnership could stand to gain up to £1,260 from backdated Marriage Tax Allowances.

To qualify, one of you needs to be a non-income-taxpayer, while the other has to be a basic 20 per cent taxpayer. If this applies to you, you can actually give 10 per cent of your allowance to your partner, meaning they have more tax-free allowance to benefit from.

2. Uniform Rebate

Everyone who wears a recognisable uniform to work may be eligible for a uniform rebate on repairs and cleaning.

Even if its just a simple branded T-shirt, don’t miss out on this chance to claim back some extra cash.

According to Lewis, you could get up to £60 back on five years’ worth of claims if you’re a basic rate taxpayer.

3. PPI tax benefits

People who claimed PPI more than five years ago may still be eligible to claim the tax they paid on it.

“The deadline to reclaim PPI was August 29, 2019, slap bang in the middle of the tax year we're about to lose, so it's no surprise it was a huge year for PPI payouts,” he said in his newsletter.

Lewis explains that 20 per cent taxes were deducted automatically from PPI payments, even though some people didn’t need to pay that.

He explained there’s also an ongoing group legal claim that you can get involved in.

4. Check for incorrect tax codes

Many people might actually be paying more tax than they’re supposed to if they’re on the wrong tax code.

Before the April 5 deadline, now is the time to ensure that your tax code information is correct.

Lewis explains in his newsletter that it’s actually your duty to check your tax code rather than your employer’s or the Government’s job.

If you don’t spot a tax code inaccuracy in time, you may not be able to claim it back until next year.

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