Marriage Allowance lets a husband, wife or civil partner who earns less than £12,570 hand £1,260 of their unused Personal Allowance to their partner. The partner then pays up to £252 less income tax a year. You can backdate a claim by four years, so a couple who have qualified all along and claim now could get up to £1,260 in total.
It takes about ten minutes to apply and it renews every year on its own. Plenty of couples who qualify have never claimed it.
Who qualifies
You need to tick all of these:
- You're married or in a civil partnership. Living together doesn't count, however long you've been together.
- The lower earner has income below the £12,570 Personal Allowance, so they don't pay income tax.
- The higher earner pays tax at the basic rate, which means income between £12,571 and £50,270. In Scotland they must be a starter, basic or intermediate rate taxpayer, which means income between £12,571 and £43,662.
- Neither of you was born before 6 April 1935. If one of you was, Married Couple's Allowance is usually worth more, and you can't have both.
Income means all taxable income, not just wages. Pensions, rent, and savings interest above your allowances all count. That's why many retired couples qualify: one partner on a small pension, the other with a bigger pension that falls in the basic rate band.
How much it saves
The partner receiving the allowance gets a tax cut of 20% of £1,260, which is £252. It's worked out at 20% even in Scotland, so Scottish couples get the same £252.
The lower earner's own allowance falls from £12,570 to £11,310. If their income is under £11,310, that makes no difference and the couple saves the full £252. If their income is between £11,310 and £12,570, they'll start paying 20% tax on the slice above £11,310, which eats into the saving.
| Lower earner's income | Extra tax they pay | Couple's saving |
|---|---|---|
| £8,000 | £0 | £252 |
| £11,310 | £0 | £252 |
| £12,000 | £138 | £114 |
| £12,570 | £252 | £0 |
The saving is also capped at the higher earner's tax bill. Someone earning £13,000 only pays £86 of income tax, so that's all they can save.
Worked example
One partner works part-time and earns £9,500. The other earns £32,000. With Marriage Allowance:
- The lower earner's allowance drops to £11,310. Their £9,500 is still below that, so they still pay no tax.
- The higher earner's tax falls from £3,886 to £3,634.
- The couple is £252 a year better off, which works out at £21 a month through the higher earner's payslip.
Backdating up to four years
You can claim for any of the previous four tax years in which you were married and met the rules. A claim made between now and 5 April 2027 can go back to 2022/23. The Personal Allowance was £12,570 in each of those years, so each one is worth up to £252.
| Tax year | Up to |
|---|---|
| 2026/27 (current) | £252 |
| 2025/26 | £252 |
| 2024/25 | £252 |
| 2023/24 | £252 |
| 2022/23 | £252 |
| Total | £1,260 |
The 2022/23 year can't be claimed after 5 April 2027, so if you qualified back then it's worth applying before that date. Backdated years are paid as a lump sum. You can still claim for earlier years if your partner has died since 5 April 2022, by phoning the Income Tax helpline.
How to apply
- The lower earner makes the claim, online on GOV.UK. You'll need both National Insurance numbers and some ID to sign in.
- If either of you has income other than wages, such as dividends or savings interest, call the Income Tax helpline first to check who should claim.
- If you fill in a Self Assessment return, you can claim on the return instead. The person transferring the allowance fills in the Marriage Allowance section, and should file at least three days before their partner.
- HMRC updates both tax codes, which can take up to two months. The receiver's code ends in M (1383M) and the giver's in N (1131N). The current year's saving is backdated to 6 April, so it catches up through payroll.
Check your codes once they change. If they still show 1257L after a couple of months, chase HMRC.
When it ends
Marriage Allowance carries on each year until one of these happens:
- You cancel it. The person who claimed must cancel, online or by phone. If the lower earner's income goes above £12,570 or the higher earner's goes above £50,270 (£43,662 in Scotland), you should cancel. It then stops at the end of the tax year on 5 April.
- Divorce, dissolution or legal separation. Either of you can cancel. The change can be backdated to the start of the tax year, which may leave one of you with a small amount of tax to pay.
- Death. If the partner who received the allowance dies, their estate keeps the higher allowance and yours goes back to £12,570. If the partner who gave it dies, you keep the extra allowance until 5 April.
Leaving the box blank on a Self Assessment return doesn't cancel it. You have to tell HMRC.
Check whether you qualify and what you'd get back with the Marriage Allowance calculator. To check the higher earner's tax band, use the income tax calculator.
Last reviewed October 2026.