Martin Lewis reveals 4 ways to check if you’re owed cash – and you could get thousands of pounds

MARTIN Lewis has revealed four ways to check if you’re owed cash and you could be owed thousands of pounds.

The MoneySavingExpert explained how to look for instant payouts that you may be entitled to.

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He told viewers of the Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV last night: “This is all about big money you may be missing out on. I’ve got four of them.”

The consumer guru added that scores of people have been in touch to say they’ve been successful in making claims – some worth over £2,000 – using these methods.

On the show, he also helped a grandmother claim back £82,100 after she’d been underpaid her state pension for years.

From claiming extra money back on PPI payouts to a tax break for married couples, here’s where to look for a refund.

Reclaiming tax on PPI compensation

Some people who successfully claimed PPI compensation may be able to claim even more cash back but this time from the taxman.

PPI payouts included an amount that you would have made in interest if the money had been put into a savings account during this time.

While you don’t have to pay tax on the refund amount, you do on the extra interest payout because it counts as “earnings on savings”.

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Savers in the UK are entitled to a personal savings allowance (PSA), which means basic rate tax payers don’t pay tax on the first £1,000 made through interest on savings – anything above that amount is subject to 20% tax.

For higher rate tax payers the PSA is set at £500 and anything above that is charged at a rate of 40%.

But the tax-free amount wasn’t taken into account on the cash deducted from PPI payouts so you may be owed a rebate.

You can only claim the tax back on payouts made after April 2016.

To find out if you’re owed a rebate, you’ll need to fill in a R40 form, which can be done online or you can print it out and post it to HMRC.

Martin said that one viewer claimed back £2,400 by doing this.

Council tax discounts for severe mental health impairment

You may be entitled to a council tax discount of up to 25% if you or someone you live with has a disability or health condition.

If someone in your household has a severe mental impairment – and no other adults you live with are entitled to a 100% discount – you can get 25% of the bill.

Those who have been overpaying for some time can backdate the claims too, meaning overall it could add up to a substantial amount.

Martin said that one viewer claimed £700 back for one parent and £2,100 for the other.

You’ll need to contact your local council to find out if you’re owed cash.

Overpaying student loans

Hundreds of thousands of graduates accidentally overpay on their student loans every year – and you can reclaim the cash if you need it.

This can happen when ex-students begin paying back their loan before they meet the earnings threshold.

If you started uni in England and Wales in or after 2012, the repayment threshold is £26,575 a year for 2020/21 and £19,390 a year for those who started earlier.

Before making a claim, you should be aware that the amount you are returned will be added back onto your debts meaning it will take longer to pay off.

To find out if you’ve been overpaying, call the Student Loans Company (SLC) on 0300 100 0611 and explain that you think you started paying back the debts too early.

Explain that you’d like the over payment to be refunded – you’ll need to provide your payroll number, PAYE reference number and payslips from when you were overpaying.

All of these details can be found on your payslip but it can still be reclaimed without the paperwork.

There’s no limit to how far back you can claim – but remember if you don’t need to reclaim it, leaving it alone will help you repay the debts quicker.

Earlier this year, the SLC began trialling a scheme that sees former students who’ve overpaid debt automatically refunded.

The government is also planning on revamping the online student loan repayment service to prevent more grads from overpaying their debts.

Tax break for married couples

Married couples can apply for a tax break worth up to £1,188 if they’ve never applied before.

Introduced in 2015, the tax perk applies to couples where one is a non-taxpayer (earning less than £12,500) and the other is a basic-rate tax payer (earning less than £50,000 a year).

It allows couples to transfer 10% of their personal allowance (the amount you can earn tax-free each tax year) between them in order to reduce their yearly tax bill.

This year that’s worth £250, but you can backdate your claim for four years – currently back to 2016/2017 – meaning you could get up to £1,150 back.

This is how much the tax break is worth over the years:

• 2020/21 – £250
• 2019/20 – £250
• 2018/19 – £238
• 2017/18 – £230
• 2016/17 – £220

You can only apply if you are the non-taxpayer – or lower earner – in the relationship.

You need to fill out the form on the Gov.uk website using both of your national insurance numbers and a form of ID, such as a passport.

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Whatever way you apply, any backdated money owed to you will be calculated automatically and set to you as a cheque.

If you need any assistance applying, you can call the HMRC helpline on 03000 200 3300.

If your partner has died since April 5 2015 you can still claim on their behalf by phoning the number above.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk