With the tax year ending on 5 April, March is a good month to check whether sharing unused tax allowances with your partner could save you some money.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) say that March is the most popular month for Marriage Allowance applications. Almost 70,000 couples applied in March last year. As there is also the option to backdate their claim for the previous 4 tax years, eligible couples who have not previously claimed could receive a lump sum payment of more than £1,000.
Marriage allowance allows individuals to transfer up to 10% of their tax-free Personal Allowance to their husband, wife, or civil partner. For the 2023/24 tax year, this means a maximum amount of £252 could be available to those who qualify.
In order to benefit, either you or your partner must have an annual income of less than the Personal Allowance, which is currently £12,570. And the higher earning partner’s income must be between £12,571 and £50,270. If you live in Scotland, the higher earning partner’s income must be between £12,571 and £43,662.
To find out if you are eligible, you can use HMRC’s online calculator at https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/marriage-allowance-application/benefit-calculator
For the first time, government departments have set individual targets for how much they will spend with small and medium-sized businesses (SME). In total, the government plans to spend £7.4 billion a year with SMEs by 2028.
For shareholders of owner-managed companies, dividends are still one of the most tax-efficient ways to take money out of the company. But with these increases coming in, it will be worth taking a fresh look at your extraction strategy.
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