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Sam Cook

Martin Lewis' urgent but 'really easy' tip for married couples so they don't miss out on £1k windfall

Money expert Martin Lewis has shared his advice to couples who could be missing out on £1000-plus. The 50-year-old financial journalist and broadcaster opened the final episode of the current series of ITV’s The Martin Lewis Money Show by talking about the marriage tax allowance.

“There are up to 2.1 million eligible couples who are not claiming this tax perk,” Martin began before telling people how they could get it. He explained: “You must be a non-taxpayer married to a basic 20% taxpayer.”

Martin added: “The non-taxpayer uses gov.uk to transfer 20% of their tax free allowance,” before showing an animation of how it all works. He then went on to discuss the perks that you could get if you are eligible.

Read more: Martin Lewis' warning to millions who claim Universal Credit following spring budget announcement

“If you’re eligible then you can claim back four years,” Martin continued, “That means that if you’re eligible then you would get £1,242 but you need to do it now or you lose the £238 from 2018/19.

Martin discussed the marriage tax allowance (ITV)

“If you did it in April then you’d feel like you have the same amount of money but that’s because you’ll be getting next year’s allowance as well. You’ll still get that if you claim now because once claimed, you will keep getting it.”

Martin concluded: “We are talking serious cash here. This is a winner for almost everyone,” before describing how in very limited cases, the cash threshold can sometimes be negative for taxpayers.

He reiterated that this is a “really easy thing to do” and “an absolute must”. The Martin Lewis Money Show is available to watch on ITVX. To get all the latest money-saving news straight to your inbox sign up here.

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