What is the Marriage Allowance?
If you’re married or in a civil partnership, you may be entitled to a tax break called the marriage tax allowance – something 2.6 million qualifying couples miss out on.
Who Qualifies?
- You must pay income tax at the basic rate (which means you currently earn between £12,501 and £50,000 for the 2020/21 tax year).
- Your spouse must earn below the personal allowance (currently £12,500 for the 2020/21 tax year).
How does it work? The marriage allowance lets you transfer (or be transferred) £1,250 of your spouse’s personal allowance. This reduces your tax bill by up to £250.
How do you apply? The person who wants to transfer their personal allowance to a spouse needs to make the claim by using the form below. It generally takes HMRC 24 hours to approve, and you’ll need two of the following documents.
- Your P60
- One of your 3 most recent payslips
- Your UK passport details
- Information held on your credit file (such as loans, credit cards or mortgages)
- Details from your Self Assessment tax return (in the last 3 years)
You can backdate your claim You are allowed to backdate your claim to include any tax year since 5th April 2016, as long as you were eligible for those years.
What if our circumstances change? You need to cancel Marriage allowance if any of the following apply:
- Your relationship ends
- You’re no longer eligible because your income changes
- You don’t want to claim it any more
How do you cancel it? You can do this online – here, or by phone – 0300 200 3300.
The allowance will run for the rest of the year in which you cancel it.
James Watson
