What is Marriage Allowance and can we claim it?
A transfer of unused personal allowance between spouses or civil partners. Simple, backdatable for several years, and widely unclaimed by the people it fits.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 10 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
If you are married or in a civil partnership and one of you has income below the personal allowance while the other is a basic-rate taxpayer, the lower earner can transfer a fixed proportion of their personal allowance to the other. It is claimed by the lower earner, it can normally be backdated four tax years, and it continues automatically until cancelled.
Marriage Allowance is one of very few reliefs that is genuinely simple, and it goes unclaimed by a large number of eligible couples every year. The two things that put people off are the belief that it applies only to older couples — it does not, it is unrelated to the separate Married Couple's Allowance for those born before a certain date — and confusion over who applies.
Step by step
- Check both incomes against the conditions.One partner's income must be below the personal allowance, and the other must be a taxpayer at the basic rate. Higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers are excluded. Scotland has its own bands and the eligible range differs slightly.
- Confirm you are married or in a civil partnership.Living together does not qualify, however long. There is no equivalent for cohabiting couples.
- Have the lower earner make the claim.The transfer is made by the person giving up part of their allowance, on GOV.UK, using a Government Gateway account or identity verification. Applying from the wrong side is the most common failed attempt.
- Ask for backdating.Claims can normally be backdated up to four tax years where the conditions were met in each. That is often the largest part of a first claim, and it is paid as a lump sum or through a tax code adjustment.
- Expect it to appear as a tax code change.The receiving partner's code gains an M suffix and the giving partner's an N. Seeing those letters is how you confirm it is running.
- Review it when circumstances change.It continues automatically each year. If the lower earner's income rises above the personal allowance, or the higher earner moves into the higher-rate band, it should be cancelled — otherwise one of you may end up underpaying and having it collected later.
- Cancel it directly with HMRC when needed.Cancellation is free and done through your HMRC account or by phone. On separation or divorce, or on the death of a partner, the rules on when it ends differ, so tell HMRC rather than assuming.
- Ignore the agencies that offer to claim it for you.The claim takes minutes and is free. Third parties charge a substantial percentage of the refund, and some use deeds of assignment that direct all future HMRC repayments to them.
Questions people ask
Who applies for Marriage Allowance?
The partner with the lower income, because they are the one transferring part of their allowance. Applications made from the other side fail.
Can we backdate a claim?
Normally up to four tax years, for any year in which both partners met the conditions. It is paid as a refund or through the tax code.
Is this the same as Married Couple's Allowance?
No. Married Couple's Allowance is a separate and much older relief, available only where one spouse was born before a specified date. You cannot claim both.