Marriage Allowance explained: who can claim and how

What is Marriage Allowance?

Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner. It can reduce their Income Tax by up to £252 in a tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April. The maximum follows from £1,260 × 20% = £252.

The figures here are for 2026/27, from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Rules can change, so check the current GOV.UK Marriage Allowance guidance before claiming. RR Accountants is not HMRC and cannot decide eligibility on your behalf.

This guide covers the transfer. For the wider rules on your tax-free income, read our Personal Allowance guide.

Who can and cannot claim?

To qualify, you must be married or in a civil partnership. Living together unmarried does not qualify. The usual income conditions are:

• The person transferring pays no Income Tax or has income below their Personal Allowance, usually £12,570.
• The partner receiving pays Income Tax at the basic rate, usually with income between £12,571 and £50,270 before receiving Marriage Allowance.
• In Scotland, the receiving partner must pay the starter, basic or intermediate rate, usually with income between £12,571 and £43,662.

Receiving a pension or living abroad does not itself affect eligibility, as long as you get a Personal Allowance. GOV.UK says to call the Income Tax helpline instead of applying online if you receive other income such as dividends, savings or benefits from your job, or do not know your taxable income.

The standard allowance and basic-rate income range are set out in GOV.UK's Income Tax rates. Our UK Income Tax guide explains the wider calculation.

Marriage Allowance or Married Couple's Allowance?

These are separate reliefs. Married Couple's Allowance is for married couples or civil partners living together where one was born before 6 April 1935. If neither was born before that date, Marriage Allowance may be available instead. You cannot receive both at the same time.

A worked example: why the saving can be below £252

Transferring the allowance can mean the lower earner pays some tax, while the couple pays less overall. This GOV.UK example illustrates the rules; it is not a calculation of your own position.

• Before the transfer, one partner earns £11,500 against a £12,570 Personal Allowance and pays no tax.
• The other earns £20,000 and pays tax on £7,430. At 20%, that is £1,486.
• After transferring £1,260, the lower earner's allowance becomes £11,310, leaving £190 taxable.
• The receiving partner now pays tax on £6,170.
• Together, they pay tax on £6,360 rather than £7,430: (£190 + £6,170) × 20% = £1,272.

The saving in this example is £1,486 minus £1,272 = £214, rather than the £252 maximum.

How to apply for Marriage Allowance

Applying online

Use the GOV.UK application service. You need your own and your partner's National Insurance numbers and must sign in. Identity checks may require photo ID. GOV.UK says an email confirming your application arrives within 24 hours.

If both of you have only wages, the lower earner should claim. Other income, such as dividends or savings, may change who should claim: call the Income Tax helpline if unsure. Different application routes apply for Self Assessment and backdating. A successful application takes effect from the start of the tax year, 6 April.

If you file a Self Assessment return

The person transferring fills in the Marriage Allowance section; the person receiving leaves it blank. If both file returns, the person transferring should file at least 3 days before the person receiving. You do not need to complete the section if your tax code ends in N or M. Our guide to who needs to file covers the separate question of whether a return is needed.

Backdating a claim

You can backdate to 6 April 2022, the start of 2022/23, for any years you were eligible. GOV.UK says the reduction in your partner's tax bill depends on the Personal Allowance rate for each year claimed. Check the application guidance for the backdating route. If your partner has died since 5 April 2022, you can still claim by phoning the Income Tax helpline.

What changes after the claim?

HMRC changes the receiving partner's tax code, which can take up to 2 months, or applies the allowance when they send their Self Assessment return. The receiving person's code ends in M; the transferring person's ends in N. For context on reading a code, see our 1257L tax code guide.

The transfer continues automatically every year until you cancel. Review it when your income or relationship changes.

When and how to cancel

Cancel if your relationship ends through divorce, a dissolved civil partnership or legal separation; if an income change makes you ineligible; or if you no longer want to claim. Either partner can cancel after the relationship ends. Otherwise, the person who made the claim must cancel.

You can cancel online, with an identity check, or phone Marriage Allowance enquiries on 0300 200 3300 (outside the UK: +44 135 535 9022), Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Follow the circumstances-change instructions in the GOV.UK guide.

If you cancel because of an income change, the allowance runs to 5 April. After a relationship ends, the change may be backdated to 6 April and could leave underpaid tax. Leaving the Marriage Allowance section blank on a Self Assessment return does not cancel an existing claim.

If a partner dies

If you transferred allowance to your partner, their estate keeps the increased allowance and yours returns to normal. If they transferred allowance to you, yours stays at the higher level until 5 April, then returns to normal.