Martin Lewis has helpful tax guidance for pensioners
Martin Lewis has useful tax advice that it is well worth pensioners making a note of. During an in-depth episode of his BBC podcast, the consumer champion tackled a wide variety of tax-related queries.
The show covered topics including income tax changes affecting state pensioners, along with the mechanics of inheritance tax and capital gains tax. Mr Lewis was joined by two tax experts to help shed light on the rules, including chartered accountant Rebecca Benneyworth – and although the episode was earlier this year, their advice is still helpful today.
An 80 year old listener named Cathy got in touch with the programme to reveal she was struggling to fill in her HMRC self-assessment forms – something many people have to do every year. The next deadline for submitting your self-assessment tax return for the previous tax year is January 31, 2027 – but Martin says you should not wait until the deadline looms.
Failing to submit your tax return on time can result in penalties. The pensioner explained she only owed £150 in tax and had tried to find help from a tax adviser, but many were charging hefty fees.
Mr Lewis reminded listeners that completing your self-assessment between October and December, well ahead of the annual January deadline, is strongly advisable. Ms Benneyworth also outlined some of the support on offer for elderly taxpayers, reports Wales Online.
‘They will sort out your tax’
She said: “If you are on a low income, there are two tax charities. One I’m thinking of is Tax Help for Older People. They have an army of volunteers – I’ve worked as a volunteer in the past – for elderly people on low incomes.
“They will come round to your house and they will sit with you, and they will sort out your tax.” The tax specialist then referenced another charity the caller could contact for assistance.
Ms Benneyworth explained: “The other one is Tax Aid. They are more London-based but you can deal with them on the phone or by email. Again, they help people who’ve got low incomes who have got themselves into a mess with their tax affairs for free.
“Lots of tax professionals make donations to those charities at the end of the year because we all think they do an absolutely fabulous job.” The accountant also suggested another avenue for understanding HMRC regulations.
Other HMRC support options – including webchat
She added: “I wouldn’t suggest it to everybody but you might get a bit of help on webchat [on the Government website]. HMRC is devoting quite a lot of money and resource to webchat.
“Some of it is the computer says yes or no, but if you are asking questions that they think you need a real life advisor, you may well be able to get put on to an advisor, who might help you.” Offering his view, Mr Lewis said improving services benefits the Government.
He commented to say: “This isn’t about a cost [for HMRC]. Ultimately, do it right and you collect more tax revenue, because people are paying the right tax. When you don’t know what to do, it’s not good for society.”
Mr Lewis’ Money Saving Expert website has advice about the 2027 deadline. It states: “If you’re self-employed or had extra income last year, you may need to file a self-assessment tax return. For the 2025/26 tax year (which ended on 5 April 2026) you have until 31 January 2027 to submit online.”
Make sure to get your tax return submitted on time 31 or risk facing a penalty, with costs potentially mounting up. The taxcalc website says: “If you miss the deadline you’ll be subject to the late filing penalty rules.”
The MSE website says: “Missing the deadline for filing your return means an automatic penalty of £100 – and these penalties increase the longer you leave it.”
