Could you claim the Marriage Allowance
The Marriage Allowance applies to married couples and civil partners where one partner does not pay Income Tax, usually because their income is below the personal allowance. For the 2025–26 tax year, this means the lower-earning partner must earn less than £12,570. The figures remain the same for the upcoming 2026-27 tax year.
The allowance allows the lower-earning partner to transfer up to £1,260 of their unused personal allowance to their spouse or civil partner. This transfer is only permitted if the recipient is taxed at no more than the basic rate of Income Tax. This means the higher-earning partner must usually have an income between £12,571 and £50,270. For those living in Scotland, the figures are somewhat different.
By using the allowance, up to £1,260 of unused personal allowance can be transferred, resulting in a tax saving of up to £252 per year for the higher-earning partner, calculated at 20% of the amount transferred.
If you meet the eligibility criteria and have not yet claimed the Marriage Allowance, you can backdate your claim for up to four previous tax years as well as the current tax year. This could result in a total tax saving of up to £1,260 across all eligible years. Claims, including backdated ones and those for the current year, can be submitted online via GOV.UK.
At present, claims can be backdated to the 2021–22 tax year, meaning you may be able to claim for 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25 and the current 2025–26 tax year. This could result in a tax saving of up to £252 a year for up to five years. Claims, including backdated claims and applications for the current year, can be made online via GOV.UK.
Could you claim the Marriage Allowance?
If you or your partner are a low earner or not working, then you may be eligible for the Marriage Allowance (MA). The MA allows lower earning couples to share part of their personal tax-free allowance. The MA is available to married couples and those in a civil partnership where a spouse or civil partner doesn’t pay tax or who has an income below the personal allowance (for 2018-19 this amounts to £11,850).
The MA allows the lower earning partner to transfer up to £1,190 (increasing to £1,250 in 2019-20) of their personal tax-free allowance to their spouse or civil partner. The MA can only be used when the recipient of the transfer doesn’t pay more than the basic 20% rate of Income Tax. This would usually mean that their partner’s income is between £11,851 and £46,350 (£12,500 to £50,000 in 2019-20). The limits are slightly different if you live in Scotland.
Planning opportunity
Couples that have not yet claimed the allowance can backdate their claim as far back as 6 April 2015 if they meet the eligibility requirements. This could result in a total tax break of up to £900 for 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and the current 2018-19 tax year. Couples have up to four years to claim backdated annual allowances.
An application for the MA can be made online or by telephone. The application must be made by the non-taxpayer who is transferring their allowance.
To summarise, to benefit as a couple, the non-taxpayer needs to earn less than their partner and have an income of £11,850 or less in 2018-19.
