Martin Lewis urges married couples to claim tax break refund before April 5
MARTIN Lewis is urging married couples to claim a tax break refund worth up to £1,188 by April 5 - or miss out on £220.
The tax perk, known as the marriage allowance, was set up in April 2015 to encourage more people to tie the knot.
The allowance applies to couples where one of you is a non-taxpayer (earning less than £12,500) and the other is a basic-rate tax payer, meaning you earn less than £50,000 a year.
It allows you to transfer £1,250 of your personal allowance (the amount you can earn tax-free each tax year) between you to cut your yearly tax bill.
Writing in his , Martin said: "Apply for the marriage tax allowance now or lose up to £220.
"If you're eligible for the government's marriage tax allowance, once you sign up, you get it year after year."
However, the claim can only be backdated by up to four years, meaning time is running out to get it for the 2016/17 tax year.
The current tax year is set to end next month on April 5, so you'll need to make a claim before then.
Martin recently also urged viewers of The Martin Lewis Money Show to do the same thing.
Whatever way you apply, any backdated money owed to you will be calculated automatically and sent to you as a cheque.
If you need any assistance applying, you can call the HMRC helpline on 03000 200 3300.
Last year, it was estimated that 1.78million couples out of 4.2million eligible ones were missing out, according to Government figures.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
In last week's episode, Martin Lewis also revealed other ways to get an up to £2,000 boost by cashing in on government rewards.
Plus, he today warned workers to check their tax codes are correct - or you could miss out on thousands of pounds.