State Pensioners can boost their personal allowance to over £21,000 with two governmental schemes. The standard Personal Allowance is £12,570, which is the amount of income you do not have to pay tax on. However, home owners can also earn up to £7,500 per year tax-free by renting out a room. The rent a room scheme lets you earn thousands of pounds a year by allowing you to let out furnished accommodation in your home.
There are no eligbility rules. You can opt into the scheme at anytime if you’re a resident landlord, whether or not you own your home or you run a bed and breakfast or a guest house.
On top of making money from spare rooms in your home. Pensioners can also make use of marriage allowance, which lets you transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner.
Doing so reduces their tax by up to £252 in the tax year. To benefit as a couple, you (as the lower earner) must normally have an income below your Personal Allowance — this is usually £12,570.
For example, if your income is £11,500 and your Personal Allowance is £12,570, so you do not pay tax.
Your partner’s income is £20,000 and their Personal Allowance is £12,570, so they pay tax on £7,430 (their “taxable income”). This means as a couple you are paying Income Tax on £7,430.
When you claim Marriage Allowance you transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your partner. Your Personal Allowance becomes £11,310 and your partner gets a reduction of £1,260 on their taxable income.
This means you will now pay tax on £190, but your partner will only pay tax on £6,170. As a couple you benefit, as you are only paying Income Tax on £6,360 rather than £7,430, which saves you £214 in tax.
You can apply for the allowance if you’re married or in a civil partnership, you do not pay Income Tax or your income is below your Personal Allowance (usually £12,570), and your partner pays Income Tax at the basic rate, which usually means their income is between £12,571 and £50,270 before they receive Marriage Allowance.
Benefiting from the Personal allowance and schemes, if you are elgibible, can take your tax-free allowance to £21,330 a year.
