Marriage Allowance

The Marriage Allowance works by giving low-income married couples or civil partners income tax relief. The low earner can send up to £1,260 of their Personal Allowance to their husband, wife or spouse. If you are the lower earner and comfortably within a lower tax bracket than your spouse, you can give them part of your Personal Allowance – a tax credit – and this will reduce the tax that they pay. This is known as being tax-efficient.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for the Marriage Allowance:

• You must be married or in a civil partnership
• Either you or your partner must not pay Income Tax or have an income below your Personal Allowance
• Either you or your partner must pay Income Tax at the basic rate, which usually means your income is between £12,571 and £50,270

How can I apply?

It’s pretty straightforward to apply for Marriage Allowance, as it’s all done online through HMRC’s website. If both you and your partner have no income other than your wages, whoever who earns the least makes the claim. If either of you has other sources of income, you might need to work out who’s in a better position to claim – this will always be the person who is earning the least overall.