Marriage Allowance is one of the easiest tax savings in the UK, and one of the most often missed. If one of you earns less than the Personal Allowance and the other pays tax at the basic rate, the lower earner can transfer £1,260 of their allowance to their partner. That cuts the higher earner’s tax by up to £252 a year, and you can claim for up to four earlier years too.
This guide uses 2026/27 figures from the same engine as our Marriage Allowance calculator, so you can check your own incomes there.
Who can claim
- You are married or in a civil partnership. Living together is not enough.
- The lower earner’s income is £12,570 or less (the Personal Allowance). Income includes pensions, savings interest above any tax-free amounts, rent and other taxable income.
- The higher earner pays tax at the basic rate: income up to £50,270 in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. In Scotland, they must pay no more than the intermediate rate, up to £43,662.
- Neither of you was born before 6 April 1935. Couples where one was are looked after by the Married Couple’s Allowance instead.
How much it is worth
The higher earner’s tax falls by 20% of £1,260, which is £252. The lower earner’s own allowance falls to £11,310. If they earn £11,310 or less, that costs them nothing, so the couple gains the full £252. If they earn between £11,310 and £12,570, they pay some tax on the slice above £11,310, and the gain is smaller.
| Lower earner’s income | Higher earner’s income | Couple gains each year |
|---|---|---|
| £8,000 | £30,000 | £252 |
| £11,500 | £30,000 | £214 |
| £12,000 | £30,000 | £114 |
| £12,570 | £30,000 | Nothing: it costs as much as it saves |
| £8,000 | £13,000 | £86 (the higher earner only pays £86 tax) |
| £8,000 | £55,000 | Not eligible: higher rate taxpayer |
The £12,000 example is easy to get wrong: the higher earner saves £252, but the lower earner now pays £138 of tax on the £690 above £11,310, leaving a gain of £114. Claim only if the household comes out ahead.
Claiming for earlier years
You can backdate a claim for up to four tax years if you were eligible in each of them. In 2026/27 that means 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26. The allowance was £1,260 in each of those years, so a couple who gain the full amount every year can receive £1,260 in total: £252 this year and £1,008 backdated. HMRC pays backdated amounts as a lump sum to the higher earner.
How to claim
The lower earner applies on GOV.UK, free of charge. It takes a few minutes and needs both National Insurance numbers. You do not need to use a claims company: they charge a share of the refund for something you can do yourself.
Once it is in place, HMRC changes both tax codes. The higher earner’s code ends in M (for example 1383M) and the lower earner’s ends in N (for example 1131N). The allowance renews each year automatically until you cancel it or your circumstances change.
When to cancel
- The lower earner’s income rises above £12,570, or the higher earner moves into the higher rate band (perhaps after a pay rise).
- You divorce, end a civil partnership, or your partner dies (special rules apply on bereavement).
If you claim when you are not entitled, HMRC will ask for the tax back, so review the claim each April.
Scotland
In Scotland the rules are the same, except that the higher earner must not pay tax above the intermediate rate (21%). A Scottish higher earner on £45,000 is above the £43,662 limit and cannot receive the allowance. The saving is still worked out at 20%, so a couple where the lower earner earns £8,000 and the higher earner £40,000 still gain £252.
Check your own figures, including backdating, with the Marriage Allowance calculator, and see what else you take home with the salary calculator.