Should you be claiming Marriage Allowance?

Around 1.8m married couples and civil-partnership members claim Marriage Allowance to save up to £252 a year in Income Tax. If you’re eligible and you’re not claiming Marriage Allowance, you could be missing out. And if you’ve been married or in a civil partnership for years, you may have been overpaying tax throughout that time.

Alternatively, you and your spouse’s/civil partner’s circumstances may have changed recently, which could now mean they or you are eligible for Marriage Allowance. Perhaps you recently got married or entered into a civil partnership; maybe one of you has retired or one of you has had their working hours reduced so earnings are now below the Personal Allowance (£12,570 for 2024/25 tax year). One of you may have taken unpaid leave or a career break or you may now be studying and earning less than £12,570 a year as a result.  

Marriage Allowance – key facts

• Marriage Allowance enables you (or your partner) to transfer £1,260 of your (their) Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner (you), which can reduce their (your) tax by up to £252 each tax year (the UK tax year runs from 6 April until 5 April).
• To benefit as a couple, you (they) must earn less than your partner (you) and have an income of £12,570 or less. Your partner’s income (or your income) must be between £12,571 and £50,270 (£12,571-£43,662 in Scotland).
• Claim can be backdated to include any tax year since 5 April 2019 that you were eligible for Marriage Allowance. If your partner has since died, you can still claim Marriage Allowance for previous years.
• When you transfer some of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner, you may pay more tax yourself, but as a couple you could still save money by paying less tax.
• You cannot claim Marriage Allowance if you’re living together but you’re not married or in a civil partnership.
• You can still apply for Marriage Allowance if you or your partner are currently receiving a pension, while living abroad doesn’t prevent you from claiming Marriage Allowance, as long as you get a Personal Allowance.

How to apply for Marriage Allowance

You can apply online for Marriage Allowance. There’s no cost, but you’ll both need your National Insurance numbers to hand. If your incomes come from wages only, the person who earns less should claim. If either of you also gets dividends or savings, you’ll need to work out who should claim (or call the Income Tax helpline if you can’t).

If you can’t apply online, you can apply through Self Assessment if you’re already registered and send tax returns. Alternatively, you can fill in the MATCF Marriage Allowance form MATCF and post it to the address stated on the form.

Changes to your Personal Allowances will be backdated to the start of the tax year (6 April), if your application is successful. HMRC will give your partner the allowance you have transferred to them (or vice versa) either by changing their tax code or when they file their Self Assessment tax return.

What if your circumstances change?

Marriage Allowance claims are automatically renewed every year. That means you must cancel Marriage Allowance if your relationship ends (ie you legally separate, get divorced or end your civil partnership) or your income increases and you’re no longer eligible to claim.

If your relationship ends, either of you can cancel the claim. In all other instances, the person who made the claim must cancel it. You can cancel Marriage Allowance online (you’ll need to sign into your account via Government Gateway and prove your identity using information HMRC holds about you) or phone the Marriage Allowance enquiries line (Tel 0300 200 3300, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm).

Marriage Allowance Example

To show how Marriage Allowance can make you better off as a couple, GOV.UK provides the following example: 

• Your income is £11,500 and your Personal Allowance is £12,570, so you do not pay tax. Your partner’s income is £20,000 and their Personal Allowance is £12,570, so they pay tax on £7,430 (their “taxable income”). This means as a couple, you are paying Income Tax on £7,430.
• When you claim Marriage Allowance you transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your partner. Your Personal Allowance becomes £11,310 and your partner gets a ‘tax credit’ on £1,260 of their taxable income.
• This means you will now pay tax on £190, but your partner will only pay tax on £6,170. As a couple you benefit, as you are only paying Income Tax on £6,360 rather than £7,430, which saves you £214 in tax.

What is Married Couple’s Allowance?

Married Couple’s Allowance is an entirely different allowance and you can’t claim both. Married Couple’s Allowance could cut your tax bill by £401 to £1,037.50 a year (2024/25) if you’re married or in a civil partnership, living with your spouse or civil partner and one of you was born before 6 April 1935.

You can backdate your claim to include any tax year since 5 April 2019 that you were eligible to claim. Your partner’s tax bill will be reduced depending on the Personal Allowance rate for the years you’re backdating.

For marriages before 5 December 2005, the husband’s income is used to work out Married Couple’s Allowance. For marriages and civil partnerships after this date, it’s the highest earner’s income. If you fill in an annual Self Assessment tax return, you can claim by completing the Married Couple’s Allowance section. Otherwise, contact HMRC with details of your marriage/civil partnership ceremony and spouse/civil partner (including their date of birth).

Need to know! Although it’s a popular online search term, there is no such thing as the “Married Person’s Allowance”.

Blog content is for information purposes and over time may become outdated, although we do strive to keep it current. It's written to help you understand your Tax's and is not to be relied upon as professional accounting, tax and legal advice due to differences in everyone's circumstances. For additional help please contact our support team or HMRC.