Martin Lewis details how savers can get £18,570 tax-free in the 'right circumstances'

Martin Lewis detailed how savers can avoid tax on their savings income

Martin Lewis was joined by experts in the field of taxes on the latest episode of the The Martin Lewis Podcast. They were there to answer some listeners' burning questions, and tax guru Rebecca Benneyworth was among those on the panel.

One caller, Angus from Derby, explained how he'd desperately researched every avenue available to him before turning to Martin Lewis for help with the starting rate for savings tax allowance, which is £5,000 for people on low income, allowing them that additional savings completely tax-free.

He questioned: “I’m in a situation where I’ve been lucky enough to retire a couple of years before retirement age. I’ve got a relatively low income for a few years until my state pension kicks in or I take some money out of my private pension plan but I’ve got relatively high savings.” Martin interjected, excitedly noting that Angus is in a “sweet spot for the starting savings rate”.

The Money Saving Expert added: “This is for anyone with relatively low income and high interest effectively. You may be able to get up to £18,570 without paying any tax on it."

Martin revealed the “right circumstances” that would allow for this would be if a person had an income under the allowance of £18,570. These people can combine the usual £12,570 tax-free personal allowance with the starter rate of £5,000 and the usual £1,000 savings allowance to get a sensational £18,570 savings tax-free.

The personal allowance is available to everyone and is the amount they can earn each tax year without paying income tax. This includes income from interest or employment.

Rebecca piped in to explain the situation a bit more. “If your non-savings income is quite low, let’s imagine your non-savings income is £8,000 a year.

“You’ve got the rest of your personal allowance first to use against your savings income so that’ll be £4,570. Then once you hit tax, your first £5,000 worth of savings is subject to a starting rate which is a lovely round number of zero.”

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Rebecca explained how those above the personal allowance can still make use of the exemption: “If you’ve got £15,000 worth of non-savings income, you’ve still got some of that £5,000 band left because that £5,000 would take you up to £17,570," she noted, adding the starter rate to the personal allowance.