Actor Rupert Grint, famed for his role as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, has lost a significant tax dispute with the UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), resulting in a £1.8 million tax bill. The case highlights the complexities of tax law concerning high-value payments received by celebrities.
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis highlights a significant tax break for married couples – the Marriage Tax Allowance. This allowance allows you to transfer £1,260 of your personal allowance to your spouse if they earn more than you, potentially saving you hundreds of pounds in tax. Find out if you’re eligible and how to claim this valuable benefit.
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis is urging Brits to be cautious about third-party firms claiming to help recover Child Trust Fund (CTF) money. He warns that thousands of young adults are unaware they are owed an average of £2,212 each, but these companies are charging exorbitant fees for a service that’s easily done for free. This article explains how the CTF scheme works, who is eligible, and how to claim your money directly from HMRC.
In a bid to clamp down on benefit fraud, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will receive expanded investigatory powers, as announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. These new powers will mirror those granted to tax inspectors at HMRC, enabling the DWP to conduct searches, make arrests, and impose civil penalties on suspected offenders. The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will also grant the DWP access to banking information without requiring suspicion of fraudulent activity, broadening its ability to gather evidence. This move aims to strengthen the detection and prosecution of benefit fraud, ensuring that the welfare system is not exploited at the expense of taxpayers.
HMRC has issued an urgent warning regarding a new QR code scam targeting businesses, cautioning against divulging personal information. This follows a worrying rise in fraudsters using QR codes to steal people’s data. HMRC has emphasized that while they utilize QR codes, they never direct users to input personal information. The tax authority uses QR codes in two primary ways: to provide guidance on GOV.UK or to redirect users to different web pages within HMRC’s secure platforms.
Over two million married couples and civil partners may face scrutiny from HMRC after claiming the marriage tax allowance. This allowance allows one partner to transfer £1,260 of their personal allowance to their spouse, saving up to £252 per tax year. However, pensions campaigner Ros Altmann cautions that many pensioners who have taken advantage of this could now face unexpected income tax bills. This is due to the combination of frozen tax thresholds and the increase in state pension value, resulting in a lower personal allowance for these individuals. Altmann highlights the risk of fines and penalties for those unaware of their tax liability, particularly among poorer pensioners who rely solely on their state pension.
Controversial tax refund firms are taking hundreds of pounds worth of HMRC rebates from households by helping to claim them, experts warn. The unregulated firms are controversial because they take a slice of cash owed to people when they could easily claim back the tax for free. Some firms use tax calculators to collect personal information, which once on file can be used indefinitely to make claims. Experts warn that people can unwittingly start a claims process when using these tools without knowing it.
