General Chat

I don't know if this is the right board to put this on but recently hubby and I have been checking both our mums tax records. My mum is now 71 and is getting the correct tax allowance for her age but from 65 to 70 she did not get the extra allowance. We are putting in a claim for her which will mean a really nice refund for her. Hubbys mum who is 78 has never been in receipt of the age related allowance. As they will refund over payments made in the previous 6 years she has received just over £2000 and now we are appealing for the previous years. If you are in the relevant age group you need to check your tax code.

Chris

Thank you for this message, I must confess I have no idea if I am getting the age-related tax allowance.

When I received my coding for this year I was reminded that they had not received the form I had been asked to complete - they hadn't because I did not receive any form.

Will contact my Tax Office to check this.

Kathleen

Hi Kathleen,

I hope you are getting it but at least if you're not you know for certain you can claim the overpayments back.

Chris

Same too with TV licences. We pay by monthly direct debit and the first paym,t is due every Aug for the following year.Last year we got the monthly schedule and i checked it as I usually do for the household expenses, noted that the pymts went up to this Aug but hubby was 75 in March so he would be due for free TV licence from then. I rang them and they had no idea of his age, they took the details with his NI nos and after checking they sent a new schedule and noted that the TV licence was valid to Aug 2009 at no cost from March.
Pays !! to check these things out.
Shirley

It is also worth checking which other benefits the elderly might be entitled to.

Mum in law has had leaflets in with her various correspondence about state pensions, asking if she had claimed for other benefits. We hadn't bothered, as we thought it would be means tested and she has a small amount of other income.

A lady from the pensions service came to see her this week and because she is on Attendance Alllowance and some other age related extra benefits, she is also entitled to help with Council Tax. It is possible it is going to be paid in full for her.

She will probably be £1000+ better off . Brilliant!

The age-related tax allowance is an extra amount that people over 65 can claim to reduce their tax bill.

The normal annual tax allowance for individuals aged 64 or under is £5,435 in the 2008/09 tax year (April 6th 2008 – April 5th 2009). However, if you are aged 65 – 74 your annual tax allowance is increased to £9,030 and if you are aged 75 or over your it is increased to £9,180 (in the 2008/09 tax year). If you have an income below these amounts you should not pay any tax. If you have an income above these amounts then the amount you pay will be less than the tax due on under-65 year olds.

Note though that there is an 'income limit' of £21,800 (in the 2008/09 tax year) above which the age-related allowance reduces to the standard basic rate allowance.


Can I get it?
If you are aged 65 or over you are entitled to the age-related tax allowance, so long as your income is below the 'income limit'.

If your income is over the 'income limit' the age related allowance reduces by half of the amount (£1 for every £2) you have over that limit, until the basic rate allowance is reached (you'll always get the basic allowance, whatever the level of your income).


How do I claim?
If HM Revenue & Customs know your age you should get the personal allowance automatically. But bear in mind they won't know your age unless you've told them or shown your date of birth on a tax return or claim form. If you haven't done this already and you are 65 or over you need to contact your Tax Office.

If you want to claim a tax refund because you didn't use your personal allowance (or for any other reason), you need to do so within five years from the 31 January following the end of the tax year concerned. To claim a tax refund you need to contact your Tax Office.

I have checked and yes I am getting the right allowances.

To update Ann's figures the personal allowance for 2009/10 is £9,640 if you are over 75 at 5 April 210 with total income for the year less than £22,900.

Thanks again to Chrissie for raising this - I really must learn to pay proper attention to all the "Notes" in future.

Kathleen