What is the marriage allowance?

Marriage allowance, sometimes referred to as the marriage tax allowance, lets one person in a married couple or a civil partnership transfer a part of their personal allowance to their partner. It’s a tax break that can give you up to £252 a year back from the government.

Who can apply for the marriage allowance?

The marriage allowance in the UK is only for married couples or those in civil partnerships. To qualify, one half of the couple must be a basic-rate taxpayer (i.e. earn £50,270 or less a year in the current tax year), and the other half of the couple must earn less than the personal allowance (currently £12,570).

Some people think of the marriage allowance as being for couples in which one person doesn’t earn at all. But it applies to anyone who earns less than that threshold. It’s also worth remembering that the figures are based on the money you actually earn, before tax. So, if you work part-time and earn less than £12,570 you’d be eligible, because it isn’t based on your full-time equivalent salary.

The marriage allowance also applies if you have a temporarily small income – for example, if you’re on maternity leave or you cut back your hours for a couple of years. So if your circumstances have changed, it’s worth thinking about whether you might now be eligible (for example, if one of you has recently retired, gone part-time, or taken a career break).

How much is the marriage allowance?

The half of the couple that earns the least can transfer 10% of their annual tax-free allowance to their partner thanks to marriage allowance. For the current tax year, that means you can essentially gift your partner up to £1,260 of extra tax-free earnings each year.

Because a basic-rate taxpayer would usually be charged 20% income tax on that portion of their salary, it means they don’t have to pay that tax – so the saving is 20% of £1,260, which is £252. You don’t get that money back in hard cash – instead, your partner will be charged £252 less income tax on their earnings each year, so each month their take-home salary will be £21 higher (assuming their salary remains the same).

If you earn close to the threshold of £12,570, you won’t get the full £252 tax saving each year. This is because you won’t have the full £1,260 of spare tax-free allowance to transfer to your partner – as you can’t transfer any allowance you’ve already used. For example, if you earn £12,000 in a year, you’ll only have £570 of your tax-free allowance left that you can transfer. So that means you’ll get a £114 tax break each year.

Can the marriage allowance be backdated?

Yes – while you can claim back up to £252 for the current year, you can also backdate any claims for up to four years that you were eligible. That means you can claim back up to £1,258.

How to claim the marriage allowance

You can claim marriage allowance online directly via the government website. You’ll need to have yours and your partner’s National Insurance numbers handy, plus some forms of ID (the above link has all the details).

Keep in mind that the person who earns the least is the one who should apply for marriage allowance.

Beware, some spoof sites have been set up that promise to claim for you. Some are scams, while others will claim it for you but take a cut of what you’re owed. These sites are often branded to look a lot like the official government website, but they will often take a massive chunk of what you claim. So, make sure you only use the GOV.UK website to process your claim.

Claiming the marriage allowance if your partner has died

Because it’s possible to backdate your claims for up to four years if you were eligible, you can still claim the marriage allowance even if your partner has died. Find out how to claim the marriage allowance after your partner’s death on the government website.