State pensioner alert as HMRC tax code suddenly changes

has issued a clarification about tax codes after a person got in touch concerned that their code had suddenly changed.

A customer reached the government organisation over X to ask: "My husband was entitled to claim state pension in September this year but hasn't claimed it. Could you please advise why his tax code has changed from 1383M to 931M?"

The tax body first asked the individual to clarify what tax code they had on their payslip. They responded to say his payslip issued on October 31 was 1383M while his payslip for November 7 was 931M.

HMRC then asked if the man had been sent a tax coding notice about the change, but the person said he had not.

The authority then advised the person to call up on the helpline about the issue unless they were on his record as able to speak on his behalf.

The woman said she was on his record for this several years ago when there was an overpayment but she was unsure if this would still be valid.

HMRC directed the taxpayer to the income tax general enquiries on the Government website.

You can call the department on 0300 200 3300. The number is available Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.

If you have the letter M at the end of your tax code, this means you receive 10 percent of the personal allowance from your partner, adding an extra £1,260 to your tax-free allowance.

This is in line with the marriage allowance rules, which allows your to pass part of your personal allowance to your spouse or civil partner.

To use the marriage allowance, you will need to be earning below the standard personal allowance of £12,570 a year.

Couples should note that you have to be married or in a civil partnership to do this as if you're just living together, this doesn't count.

The full new state pension is currently £221.20 a week, or £11,502.40 a year, which is just over £2,000 away from being subject to income tax.

With the triple lock increase next April boosting payments by 4.1 percent, this will increase to £230.30 a week, up to £11,975.60 a year.

The full basic state pension pays £169.50 a week, which will go up to £176.45 a week from next April.