Speaking on This Morning, Martin did a breakdown of the quickest and easiest ways to bump up your bank balance ahead of the upcoming summer holiday – always an big expense for families.
Explaining the biggest windfall available, Martin said: “Back in April 2015, the Government launched a new tax-break for married people (or civil partners), but out of the 4.2m eligible couples for the marriage tax allowance only 1.8m have claimed it.
“You’re eligible if both of you are under age 82, one of you pays the basic 20 per cent tax and the other’s a non-taxpayer.
“The basic-rate taxpayer can transfer £1,150 of their personal allowance to their spouse, which means £1,150 of income you would’ve paid 20 per cent tax on is now tax-free, a £230 gain. Plus you can back claim if you missed out too.”
There is also another £110 up for grabs for switching bank accounts. Martin explained: “Switching bank accounts is easy. With seven-day switching, they shift all direct debits and standing orders for you, close the old account, and redirect payments to the old bank for three years.”
Revealing his top three cash rewards for switchers, Martin said: “Co-op – £110 and up to £5.50/mth (max £66/yr). Switchers to Co-op get £110. And sign up to its Everyday Rewards scheme (which involves jumping a few minor hoops) to get £4/mth, plus 5p per debit card use, up to £1.50/mth – max £176 in year one.
“First Direct – free £100. First Direct’s won every service poll I’ve ever done, with 91 per cent rating it ‘great’ in my February poll. Switchers get £100, a £250 0 per cent overdraft and can put up to £300/mth in its 5 per cent fixed regular saver.
“Nationwide – free £100 for you and a friend. If a friend already banks with Nationwide get them to refer you to switch to it too, and you’ll both receive £100. Its top accounts are the FlexDirect – which gives 5 per cent interest on up to £2,500 in the first year, and the FlexPlus account which for £10/month gives worldwide family travel insurance, mobile insurance for all the families’ smartphones and European car breakdown cover. So if you’re going to use all the benefits it’s worth getting.
“All these accounts will credit-score you, and require direct debits to be set up (in varying number). Plus, for some you’ll need to pay in a set amount in each month, effectively a way of saying ‘pay your income in here’. First Direct is £1,000 and while both Nationwide’s FlexDirect and Co-op doesn’t require a minimum pay in for the switch bonus, you do need to pay in £1,000 and £800 respectively to get the interest and monthly rewards.”
There is also a free £100 plus two airport lounge tickets with the Amex Gold card. Martin said: “Accepted new applicants for the Amex Reward Gold Charge card get 20,000 reward points when you spend £2,000 in the first three months. This is enough to exchange for a £100 voucher for Amazon, M&S and more.
“Alternatively, you can exchange the points for two BA/Virgin economy return tickets to Paris or Amsterdam or one economy return to Athens or Istanbul etc. But factor in taxes and charges of at least £35 per return.
“You should get the points within a month of hitting the trigger but they often come within a few days. You’ll continue to earn one point per £1 spend on the card after too, but this isn’t a call to spend more than you need, just use it instead of other methods for all your normal spending and as long as that’s over c. £700+/month (not huge for a family) you’ll qualify for the freebies.
“You also get a membership card to the ‘Lounge Club’ scheme with gives you two free visits to most UK affiliated airport lounges (£15/person after).”
However he did issue some warnings, and said: “After a year there’s a £140 fee (which is waived for the first year) so diarise to cancel before then if you want to avoid it and as this is a charge card, not a credit card, you MUST repay IN FULL every month. If you don’t you face a £12 penalty and a mark on your credit file. Best set up a direct debit to repay.”
As well as cash rewards of up to £832, Martin revealed a tax rebate that could get you £60. He said: “If you wear a recognisable uniform to work, even if it’s just a branded t-shirt, and you wash it yourself, you may be able to reclaim hundred’s of pounds of tax back.
“The amount you can claim depends on the industry you work in – the standard expense allowance is £60 which means a basic-rate taxpayer can claim £12 (20 per cent of £60), though some occupations allow up to £140 so that’s claiming £28 and higher-rate taxpayer can claim more. As you can go back four years in total you could get up to £140 extra for basic-rate or £280 for higher-rate tax payers.
“To claim fill out the P87 form and send it to HMRC – don’t pay anyone to do this for you. It’s free to do direct from the Gov website. Once you’ve registered, your tax code will change, so you’ll be taxed less in the future.”
Finally, Martin explained how to reclaim lost Tesco Clubcard vouchers. He said: “Very simple this one – though I’ve cheated slightly as it’s not quite cash. If you shop at Tesco, you can easily find any unused or lost Clubcard vouchers going back the last two years.
“Just log into your Tesco Clubcard account (or register with your Clubcard details) and under the ‘my vouchers’ section (found on the left-hand side) you’ll be able to see a list of the vouchers you still have to spend.”
For more information on the Marriage Tax Allowance, see Martin’s guide here.
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