There is a tax break worth up to £252 a year that millions of married couples and civil partners are completely ignoring. It is called Marriage Allowance, it is free to claim, and if you are eligible you can even backdate it for up to four years — putting over a thousand pounds back into your pocket.
Despite being available since 2015, estimates suggest that around two million couples who qualify have never claimed it. That is a lot of money being left on the table. So let us go through exactly what it is, who can get it, and how to claim it.
What Is Marriage Allowance?
Marriage Allowance lets one partner transfer £1,260 of their personal allowance to the other partner. The personal allowance is the amount you can earn before paying income tax — for 2025/26, that is £12,570.
When you transfer the £1,260, the lower earner's personal allowance drops to £11,310, and the higher earner gets a tax reduction of £252 — which is 20% of £1,260. That £252 comes straight off their tax bill.
It is not a massive amount, but it is genuinely free money. You do not need to do anything complicated, and it takes about ten minutes to set up.
Who Can Claim It?
To qualify for Marriage Allowance, you need to meet all of these conditions:
- You must be married or in a civil partnership. Just living together does not count, unfortunately.
- One of you must be a non-taxpayer — meaning you earn less than the personal allowance of £12,570 (or ideally £11,310 or less, to get the full benefit).
- The other partner must be a basic-rate taxpayer — earning between £12,571 and £50,270 in England and Northern Ireland (or up to £43,662 in Scotland).
Crucially, the higher earner must not be a higher-rate or additional-rate taxpayer. If they earn over £50,270, you cannot claim Marriage Allowance. (There is a separate, older scheme called Married Couple's Allowance for couples where one partner was born before 6 April 1935, but that is a different thing entirely.)
Common Situations Where It Applies
Marriage Allowance is particularly useful in situations like these:
- One partner is a stay-at-home parent and the other works full-time on a salary under £50,270.
- One partner works part-time and earns less than £12,570 — for example, a few shifts a week that bring in £8,000 a year.
- One partner is retired and their only income is the State Pension, which is currently below the personal allowance for many pensioners.
- One partner is a student with little or no income.
- One partner is self-employed with low profits in a particular year.
The key test is simple: does one of you earn under £12,570, and does the other earn between £12,571 and £50,270? If yes, you almost certainly qualify. Not sure what your income works out to after tax? Our salary calculator can help you check in seconds.
How Much Can You Save?
The maximum saving for 2025/26 is £252 per year. That might not sound like a fortune, but here is where it gets interesting: you can backdate your claim for up to four years.
If you have been eligible since 2021/22 and never claimed, you could receive a one-off payment covering the last four tax years plus the current one. The amounts vary slightly by year because the allowance has changed, but in total you could get back over £1,200.
Here is a rough breakdown of the maximum saving per year:
- 2021/22: £252
- 2022/23: £252
- 2023/24: £252
- 2024/25: £252
- 2025/26: £252
That is up to £1,260 in total if you have been eligible for all five years. The backdated amount is paid as a lump sum, while the current year's saving is applied through the higher earner's tax code, reducing their monthly tax bill.
How to Claim
Claiming is straightforward and you can do it online in about ten minutes. Here is the process:
Step 1: The lower earner (the one giving up part of their personal allowance) needs to apply. You can do this through the GOV.UK website — just search for "Marriage Allowance" and follow the prompts.
Step 2: You will need both partners' National Insurance numbers. If you do not know yours, it is on your payslip, P60, or any letter from HMRC.
Step 3: HMRC will adjust the higher earner's tax code to reflect the extra allowance. You should see the change within a few weeks — the higher earner will start paying slightly less tax each month.
Step 4: If you are backdating, HMRC will calculate what you are owed and send a cheque or transfer the money directly.
You can also apply by phone on 0300 200 3300 if you prefer not to do it online.
Things to Watch Out For
There are a few situations where Marriage Allowance might not work in your favour:
If the lower earner's income is close to the personal allowance. For example, if you earn £12,000, transferring £1,260 means your allowance drops to £11,310. If your income is above £11,310 but below £12,570, you could end up paying some tax that you would not have paid otherwise. You still come out ahead as a couple (because the higher earner's saving is bigger than the lower earner's extra tax), but it is worth being aware of.
If circumstances change. If the higher earner gets a pay rise that pushes them into the higher-rate band (above £50,270), you should cancel the Marriage Allowance. HMRC will not automatically cancel it for you, and continuing to claim when you are not eligible could lead to a tax underpayment.
If you separate or divorce. You should cancel the Marriage Allowance if you separate. It stays in place until someone cancels it, which means your ex-partner could still be benefiting from your transferred allowance.
Can You Claim If You Got Married Part-Way Through the Year?
Yes. If you got married or entered a civil partnership during the tax year, you can still claim Marriage Allowance for that year. The full £1,260 transfer applies regardless of when in the year you got married — there is no need to pro-rata it.
Marriage Allowance vs Married Couple's Allowance
These are two different things and you cannot claim both. Married Couple's Allowance is an older scheme that only applies if one partner was born before 6 April 1935. It gives a higher tax reduction but is much less common these days. If you are not sure which one applies to you, the GOV.UK website has a tool that can help you check.
The Bottom Line
Marriage Allowance is one of the easiest and most overlooked tax breaks in the UK. If you are married or in a civil partnership and one of you earns under the personal allowance while the other pays basic-rate tax, there is genuinely no reason not to claim it. It costs nothing to apply, takes minutes to set up, and could save you over a thousand pounds when backdated.
Check whether you and your partner qualify using our Marriage Allowance calculator, and see exactly how much you could save.