The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has successfully challenged HMRC guidance over the circumstances in which the blind person’s allowance can be transferred between spouses
The charity said calls to its tax advice team uncovered difficulties with claiming and transferring the blind person's allowance, which is an additional tax-free amount available to a blind person above the standard personal allowance for calculating income tax.
The allowance is set at £2,390 for the tax year 2018/19, rising to £2,450 in 2019/2020. If an individual and their spouse or civil partner are both eligible, they will each get an allowance. Individuals can transfer their blind person’s allowance to their spouse or civil partner if they do not pay tax or earn enough to use all of their allowance.
However, RNIB said it was alerted to two cases where HMRC had refused to transfer the allowance because one person in each couple was living in a care home and HMRC said its guidance only allows blind person's allowance to be transferred where a couple is ‘living together’.
RNIB successfully challenged this decision on the grounds that ‘living together’ for income tax purposes includes couples where one of them is living in a care home.
In addition, a form called a 575 form had to be completed to transfer the blind person’s tax allowance between spouses and civil partners. RNIB explained the difficulties this caused and HMRC eventually agreed that these forms were no longer necessary.
Michael Farragher, HMRC project manager at RNIB, said: ‘Thanks to the in-depth tax knowledge of the RNIB team, and with the help of Tax Help for Older People, HMRC has now agreed to transfer blind person’s allowance for both couples.
‘HMRC are now updating its internal guidance for staff and on gov.uk on this issue. This is a great outcome which we know will help other couples in the same situation in the future.’
An HMRC spokesperson told Accountancy Daily: 'We’re pleased we could help this couple get the allowance they are entitled to and will be updating guidance to help other couples.'
RNIB is also raising an issue with HMRC about its correspondence in braille using the old Standard English Braille. From 2016, all braille produced by organisations should be written in the current, internationally-approved code, Unified English Braille (UEB).
Pat Sweet
