The marriage allowance is not a separate allowance as such โ rather, it is a transfer of part of one spouse or civil partnerโs personal allowance to their spouse or civil partner. It should not be confused with the married coupleโs allowance which is available where at least one spouse or civil partner was born before 6 April 1935.
The marriage allowance allows one spouse or civil partner to transfer 10% of their personal allowance (as rounded to the nearest ยฃ10) to their spouse or civil partner. However, the transfer is not permitted if the recipient pays tax at the higher or additional rate. For 2023/24 the personal allowance is ยฃ12,570 and the marriage allowance is ยฃ1,260.
Claiming the marriage allowance is beneficial if one spouse or civil partner is unable to use their personal allowance in full, and the other pays tax at the basic rate. Utilising the allowance can save a couple up to ยฃ252 in tax in 2023/24 (ยฃ1,260 @ 20%).
The only permitted transfer is ยฃ1,260 โ it is not possible to transfer more of the personal allowance where this is unused or less if the amount unused is less than ยฃ1,260. However, if the unused personal allowance is less than ยฃ1,260 and making the transfer would mean that overall, the couple would pay less tax, it would be beneficial (although it may mean that some tax is now payable by the transferor).
Where the marriage allowance is claimed, the personal allowance of the spouse or civil partner making the transfer is reduced by ยฃ1,260 to ยฃ11,310, whereas the recipientโs personal allowance is increased to ยฃ13,830.
Older couples benefiting from the married coupleโs allowance cannot also claim the marriage allowance.
Making a claim
A claim can be made online by visiting the Gov.uk website at www.gov.uk/apply-marriage-allowance. The claim can be made for the current tax year and also for 2019/20 and any later tax year for which the couple were eligible to make the claim. Once a claim has been made, it will apply for subsequent tax years until the claim is cancelled. This too can be done online.
Claims for the allowance can also be made through Self Assessment or by completing the marriage allowance form MATCF (see www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-marriage-allowance-by-post) and sending it to the address on the form.
Example 1
Alex and Anna are married. Alex earns ยฃ30,000 a year. Anna looks after their young daughter and has no income in 2023/24.
The couple claim the marriage allowance. As a result, Alexโs personal allowance is increased by ยฃ1,260, reducing the tax that he pays by ยฃ252.
Example 2
Jake and John are in a civil partnership. Jake works part-time while studying and earns ยฃ12,000 in 2023/24. John has income of ยฃ40,000 in 2023/24.
Jake is only able to use ยฃ12,000 of his personal allowance, leaving ยฃ570 unused. Although he cannot tailor the marriage allowance to transfer this to John, a claim is still worthwhile.
Making the claim will reduce Jakeโs personal allowance by ยฃ1,260 to ยฃ11,310. As a result, he will now have to pay a small amount of tax as his income exceeds his reduced personal allowance by ยฃ690, generating a tax liability of ยฃ138 (ยฃ690 @ 20%).
However, Johnโs personal allowance will increase by ยฃ1,260, reducing the tax that he pays by ยฃ252.
Overall, despite the fact that Jake must now pay some tax, the coupleโs combined tax bill is reduced by ยฃ114 (ยฃ252 โ ยฃ138) as a result of claiming the allowance.
Partner note: ITA 2007, ss. 55A โ 55E.
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