Married couples eligible for a tax refund are warned to watch out for a new round of claims companies are charging to make the app available for free
Reimbursement: couples can apply for the marriage allowance free of charge
Married couples eligible for a tax refund are warned to be wary of a new wave of claims from companies, which charge to make a claim available for free.
Couples who are married or in a civil partnership can apply for the Marriage Allowance, which is tax relief worth up to £252 a year, free of charge. It allows a low-income couple to transfer up to £1,260 from their tax-free annual allowance to the highest earner.
The highest earner must earn between £12,571 and £50,270 to qualify. Claims can be backdated to April 5, 2018 – so a couple can currently seek up to £1,008 in a single claim. But a growing number of companies are offering to make applications on behalf of couples – and cut fees by up to 42%.
In some cases, companies have created official-looking websites to trick couples into thinking they are going through tax and customs.
Filing a complaint is simple and does not require the assistance of a third party. They can be done directly on the Revenue & Customs site in minutes and at no cost.=
National Trading Standards has an eCrime team that monitors deceptive websites. A spokesperson said: “These websites are tricking people into spending beyond the odds on a free government service.”
You should only use the official Tax and Customs website to make a claim. Visit gov.uk or call 0300 200 3300.
