Blind Person’s Allowance
3 mins
Our experts at DSR Tax Refunds know how hard it is to find good, quality information about HMRC’s tax regulations that is easy to understand, and that’s why we have created these handy guides to tell you everything you need to know. Our aim is to make life easier for our clients and that is why we want to share our expertise with you. You can also call our friendly team on 0330 122 9972 – we’re the tax experts you can trust. Or you can check out our online calculator to see if you could be due a refund.
What is Blind Person’s Allowance?
Blind Person’s Allowance is a tax-free allowance, which is added on to the standard personal allowance which most peopleare entitled to. This means that you will be able to earn more income before you have to pay any Income Tax.
Blind Person’s Allowance is added to the personal tax-free allowance you are entitled to each tax year. The personal allowance is the amount of money you are allowed to earn before you are expected to pay any Income Tax. With Blind Person’s Allowance, you are entitled to earn a bit more before you are expected to pay any Income Tax.
The rates of Blind Person’s Allowance are:
Tax Year | Blind Person’s Allowance |
2020/21 | £2,500 |
2019/20 | £2,450 |
2018/19 | £2,390 |
2017/18 | £2,320 |
If you and your husband, wife or civil partner are both eligible for Blind Person’s Allowance, you will both receive it. If you don’t earn enough to pay Income Tax, or use all of your Blind Person’s Allowance, you are allowed to transfer it to your spouse or civil partner so you don’t miss out on it.
Who is eligible to claim Blind Person’s Allowance?
In England and Wales, you can claim Blind Person’s Allowance if you are registered as blind or severely sight-impaired with your local council. The situation is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where you can claim Blind Person’s Allowance if you are unable to do work for which eyesight is essential. Generally this means that people who have been certified as blind by an eye specialist or where your eyesight is so bad that it makes you unable to work in roles where you are expected to be able to see.
How do you claim Blind Person’s Allowance?
If you want to claim Blind Person’s Allowance, you need to contact HMRC on 0300 200 3301. The phone lines are open between 8am and 8pm Mondays to Fridays, 8am to 4pm on Saturdays, and 9am to 5pm on Sundays.
How do you transfer your Blind Person’s Allowance?
If you want to transfer your Blind Person’s Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner because you don’t earn enough to be able to use it, you can apply to HMRC using form 575. You can either do this online or by post. You can use this form to transfer your Marriage Allowance as well, if you aren’t using that either.
If you are already making a claim to get your tax back from any savings and investment interest and you are using form R40 to get this tax back, you can tick the box to ask for a copy of form 575 at the same time.
You can request these forms in other formats, some of which are more accessible to people with disabilities, such as forms in braille. You need to contact HMRC on 0330 200 3300 (textphone 0300 200 339) to do so.
How can DSR Tax Refunds help?
We aim to make life as simple as possible for our clients and that includes giving you the information you need to make your taxes (and your life) simpler and less stressful. Our team of experts at DSR Tax Refunds are always on hand to help our clients and our excellent standing with HMRC means that we can make sure you don’t fall foul of their regulations, while claiming your maximum tax rebate. We can even take care of all that paperwork and deal with HMRC on your behalf too. Call our friendly team on 0330 122 9972 – we’re the tax experts you can trust.
This page was last updated on 15/09/2020.