Marriage Allowance

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1. How it works

Marriage Allowance lets you transfer 拢1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner.

This reduces their tax by up to 拢252 in the tax year (6 April to 5 April the next year).

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

To benefit as a couple, you (as the lower earner) must normally have an income below your Personal Allowance - this is usually 拢12,570.

You can . You should call the Income Tax helpline instead if you receive other income such as dividends, savings or benefits from your job. You can also call if you do not know what your taxable income is.

When you transfer some of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner you might have to pay more tax yourself, but you could still pay less as a couple.

Example

Your income is 拢11,500 and your Personal Allowance is 拢12,570, so you do not pay tax.

Your partner鈥檚 income is 拢20,000 and their Personal Allowance is 拢12,570, so they pay tax on 拢7,430 (their 鈥榯axable income鈥�). This means as a couple you are paying Income Tax on 拢7,430.

When you claim Marriage Allowance you transfer 拢1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your partner. Your Personal Allowance becomes 拢11,310 and your partner gets a 鈥榯ax credit鈥� on 拢1,260 of their taxable income.

This means you will now pay tax on 拢190, but your partner will only pay tax on 拢6,170. As a couple you benefit, as you are only paying Income Tax on 拢6,360 rather than 拢7,430, which saves you 拢214 in tax.

Who can apply

You can benefit from Marriage Allowance if all the following apply:

  • you鈥檙e married or in a civil partnership
  • you do not pay Income Tax or your income is below your Personal Allowance (usually 拢12,570)
  • your partner pays Income Tax at the basic rate, which usually means their income is between 拢12,571 and 拢50,270 before they receive Marriage Allowance

You cannot claim Marriage Allowance if you鈥檙e living together but you鈥檙e not married or in a civil partnership.

If you鈥檙e in Scotland, your partner must pay the starter, basic or intermediate rate, which usually means their income is between 拢12,571 and 拢43,662.

It will not affect your application for Marriage Allowance if you or your partner:

If you or your partner were born before 6 April 1935, you might benefit more as a couple by applying for Married Couple鈥檚 Allowance instead.

You cannot get Marriage Allowance and Married Couple鈥檚 Allowance at the same time.

Backdating your claim

You can backdate your claim to include any tax year since 5 April 2020 that you were eligible for Marriage Allowance.

Your partner鈥檚 tax bill will be reduced depending on the Personal Allowance rate for the years you鈥檙e backdating.

If your partner has died since 5 April 2020 you can still claim - phone the Income Tax helpline. If your partner was the lower earner, the person responsible for managing their tax affairs needs to phone.

Stopping Marriage Allowance

Your Personal Allowance will transfer automatically to your partner every year until you cancel Marriage Allowance - for example if your income changes or your relationship ends.

2. How to apply

You can apply for Marriage Allowance online. It鈥檚 free to apply.

If both of you have no income other than your wages, then the person who earns the least should make the claim.

If either of you gets other income, such as dividends or savings, you may need to work out who should claim. You can call the Income Tax helpline if you鈥檙e unsure.

Changes to your Personal Allowances will be backdated to the start of the tax year (6 April) if your application is successful.

Other ways to apply

If you cannot apply online, you can apply:

Apply through Self Assessment

If you鈥檙e transferring your Personal Allowance to your partner, fill out the Marriage Allowance section on your return. If you鈥檙e receiving the allowance, leave the Marriage Allowance section of your return blank.

If you both send a Self Assessment tax return, the person transferring the allowance should file theirs at least 3 days before the person receiving the allowance.

You do not need to fill out the Marriage Allowance section of your tax return if your tax code ends in 鈥楴鈥� or 鈥楳鈥�. Your allowance will transfer to your partner every year until you cancel Marriage Allowance.

How your Personal Allowances change

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will give your partner the allowance you have transferred to them either:

  • by changing their tax code - this can take up to 2 months
  • when they send their Self Assessment tax return

If your new Personal Allowance is lower than your income after you鈥檝e made a claim, you might have to pay some Income Tax. However, you might still benefit as a couple.

How your tax code will change

You and your partner will get new tax codes that reflect the transferred allowance. Your tax code will end with:

  • 鈥楳鈥� if you are receiving the allowance
  • 鈥楴鈥� if you are transferring the allowance

Your tax code will also change if you鈥檙e employed or get a pension.

3. If your circumstances change

You must cancel Marriage Allowance if any of the following apply:

  • your relationship ends - because you鈥檝e divorced, ended (鈥榙issolved鈥�) your civil partnership or legally separated
  • your income changes and you鈥檙e no longer eligible
  • you no longer want to claim

If your income changes and you鈥檙e not sure if you should still claim, call HMRC Marriage Allowance enquiries.

How to cancel

Either of you can cancel if your relationship has ended.

If you鈥檙e cancelling for another reason, the person who made the claim must cancel.

If you send a Self Assessment tax return, your claim will not be cancelled if you leave the Marriage Allowance section blank. You must cancel online or by phone.

Cancel online

You can . You鈥檒l be asked to prove your identity using information HMRC holds about you.

Cancel by phone

Contact Marriage Allowance enquiries to cancel or get help.

Marriage Allowance enquiries
Telephone: 0300 200 3300
Telephone from outside the UK: +44 135 535 9022
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges

After you cancel

If you cancel because of a change of income, the allowance will run until the end of the tax year (5 April).

If your relationship has ended, the change may be backdated to the start of the tax year (6 April).

This might mean you or your partner underpays tax for the year.

If your partner dies

If your partner dies after you鈥檝e transferred some of your Personal Allowance to them:

  • their estate will be treated as having the increased Personal Allowance
  • your Personal Allowance will go back to the normal amount

Example

Your income is 拢8,000 and you transferred 拢1,260 of your allowance to your partner. This made your allowance 拢11,310 and their allowance 拢13,830.

After their death, their estate鈥檚 Personal Allowance stays at 拢13,830 and yours goes back to 拢12,570.

If your partner transferred some of their Personal Allowance to you before they died:

  • your Personal Allowance will remain at the higher level until the end of the tax year (5 April)
  • their estate will be treated as having the smaller amount

Example

Your partner transferred 拢1,260 to your Personal Allowance, making their allowance 拢11,310 and yours 拢13,830.

After their death, your Personal Allowance stays at 拢13,830 until 5 April, and then goes back to the normal amount. Their estate is treated as having a Personal Allowance of 拢11,310.