Marriage Allowance and Married Couple's Allowance

Introduction

If you're married or in a civil partnership, you may be able to reduce your household tax bill by sharing your Personal Allowance. Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your partner, potentially saving up to £252 a year. If you or your partner were born before 6 April 1935, you might qualify for Married Couple's Allowance instead, which could cut your tax bill by £436 to £1,127 a year.

What is Marriage Allowance?

Marriage Allowance lets you transfer 10% of your Personal Allowance (the amount you can earn before paying tax) to your husband, wife or civil partner. In the 2025/26 tax year, you can transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance, which reduces your partner's tax by up to £252.

To benefit as a couple, you (as the lower earner) must have an income below your Personal Allowance, which is usually £12,570. Your partner must pay Income Tax at the basic rate, meaning their income is typically between £12,571 and £50,270.

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

How Marriage Allowance works: an example

Suppose your income is £11,500 and your Personal Allowance is £12,570, so you pay no tax. Your partner earns £20,000 with a Personal Allowance of £12,570, so they pay 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's taxable income reduces by £1,260 to £6,170.

You'll now pay tax on £190, but your partner will only pay tax on £6,170. As a couple, you're paying Income Tax on £6,360 rather than £7,430, saving you £214 in tax.

When you transfer some of your Personal Allowance, you might pay more tax yourself, but you'll usually still pay less as a couple.

Who can apply for Marriage Allowance

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

• You're married or in a civil partnership
• You do not pay Income Tax or your income is below your Personal Allowance (usually £12,570)
• Your partner pays Income Tax at the basic rate (or in Scotland, the starter, basic or intermediate rate)

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

Your application is not affected if you or your partner are receiving a pension or live abroad (as long as you get a Personal Allowance).

You cannot get Marriage Allowance and Married Couple's Allowance at the same time. If you or your partner were born before 6 April 1935, Married Couple's Allowance may be more beneficial.

How to apply for Marriage Allowance

The quickest way to apply is online. If both of you have no income other than your wages, the person who earns the least should make the claim. If either of you receives other income such as dividends or savings, you may need to contact HMRC to work out who should claim.

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

Applying through Self Assessment

If you're transferring your Personal Allowance to your partner, fill out the Marriage Allowance section on your Self Assessment tax return. If you're receiving the allowance, leave the Marriage Allowance section blank.

If you both file Self Assessment tax returns, 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 if your tax code ends in 'N' or 'M' — your allowance will transfer automatically every year until you cancel it.

Backdating your claim

You can backdate your claim to 6 April 2022 (the 2022 to 2023 tax year) for any years you were eligible. Your partner's tax bill will be reduced depending on the Personal Allowance rate for those years.

To backdate your claim, you must use form MATCF and apply by post. Any other postal claims will not be accepted.

If your partner has died since 5 April 2022, you can still claim by phoning the Income Tax helpline. If your partner was the lower earner, the person responsible for managing their tax affairs needs to phone.

How your tax code will change

HMRC will give your partner the allowance you've transferred by changing their tax code (this can take up to 2 months) or when they send their Self Assessment tax return.

Your tax code will end with:

• 'M' if you are receiving the allowance
• 'N' if you are transferring the allowance

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

When Marriage Allowance continues and stops

Your Personal Allowance will transfer automatically to your partner every year until you cancel Marriage Allowance.

You must cancel Marriage Allowance if:

• Your relationship ends through divorce, dissolution of your civil partnership, or legal separation
• Your income changes and you're no longer eligible
• You no longer want to claim

Either of you can cancel if your relationship has ended. If you're cancelling for another reason, the person who made the claim must cancel. You can cancel online or by phoning Marriage Allowance enquiries on 0300 200 3300 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).

If you cancel because of a change of income, the allowance runs 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), which might mean you or your partner underpays tax for the year.

If your partner dies

If your partner dies after you've transferred some of your Personal Allowance to them, their estate will be treated as having the increased Personal Allowance, and your Personal Allowance will return to the normal amount.

What is Married Couple's Allowance?

Married Couple's Allowance is a different tax relief that could reduce your tax bill by between £436 and £1,127 in the 2025 to 2026 tax year.

You can claim Married Couple's Allowance if all the following apply:

• You're married or in a civil partnership
• You're living with your spouse or civil partner
• One of you was born before 6 April 1935

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 income of the highest earner.

You can still claim if you're unable to live with your spouse or civil partner because of illness or old age (for example, where your spouse or partner is in residential care), working away from home, an armed forces posting, being in prison, or training or education.

If you marry or register a civil partnership, you'll get the allowance on a pro-rata basis for the rest of that tax year. If one of you dies or you divorce or separate, the allowance continues until the end of the tax year.

How to claim Married Couple's Allowance

If you complete a Self Assessment tax return each year, claim by filling in the Married Couple's Allowance section of the tax return.

If you do not fill in a Self Assessment tax return, contact HMRC with details of your marriage or civil partnership ceremony and your spouse or civil partner (including their date of birth).

Transferring or sharing Married Couple's Allowance

You can transfer any unused Married Couple's Allowance to your spouse or civil partner after the tax year ends if they pay tax and your tax bill was not high enough to use the full allowance. Fill in form 575 or ask HMRC to post you a copy.

Before the tax year starts, you and your spouse or civil partner can choose to share the minimum Married Couple's Allowance, or transfer the whole of the minimum allowance from one to the other. Fill in form 18 before the start of the tax year.

Sources

• Marriage Allowance
• Apply for Marriage Allowance by post
• Married Couple's Allowance

This article provides general guidance based on current HMRC rules. For advice specific to your situation, speak to your accountant.