{"id":186,"date":"2019-05-29T12:59:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T11:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/?p=186"},"modified":"2024-04-02T17:19:46","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T16:19:46","slug":"marriage-allowance-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/the-tax-basics\/marriage-allowance-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"How does the Marriage Allowance work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <a href=\"\/en-uk\/glossary\/marriage-allowance\/\">Marriage Allowance<\/a> is a simple way for couples to save on tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You transfer \u00a31,260 (10%) of your <a href=\"\/en-uk\/glossary\/personal-allowance\/\">Personal Allowance<\/a> to your husband, wife, or civil partner if they earn more than you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2024\/25 tax year, this reduces\u00a0<strong>their<\/strong>\u00a0tax by up to \u00a3260.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tax in 10(ish) seconds - what is tax-efficiency?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/93RKUoFKaXM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are we eligible?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You&#8217;re officially married or in a <a href=\"\/en-uk\/glossary\/civil-partnership\/\">civil partnership<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>One of you earns less than the <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/glossary\/personal-allowance\/\">Personal Allowance<\/a> (\u00a312,570 in 2024\/25)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The other partner is a <a href=\"\/en-uk\/income-tax-rates-in-the-uk\/\">basic 20% rate taxpayer<\/a>: less than \u00a350,270 in the 2024\/25 tax year<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You were both born on or after 6 April 1935<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How much can my partner get?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can backdate your claim by up to four years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>2018\/19 \u2013 \u00a3238<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2019\/20 \u2013 \u00a3250<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2020\/21 \u2013 \u00a3250<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2021\/22 &#8211; \u00a3260<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2022\/23 &#8211; \u00a3260<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2023\/24 &#8211; \u00a3260<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So if you claim now and backdate, your partner\/spouse can get up to \u00a31,020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do we apply for it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th><strong>How to apply<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>Details<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Who has to apply?<\/td><td>The low earning partner<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Where to apply?<\/td><td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/apply-marriage-allowance\">online at HMRC\u2019s website<\/a>&nbsp;or you can call&nbsp;0300 200 3300<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>What do you need?<\/td><td>both your&nbsp;NI numbers&nbsp;and&nbsp;passport or other IDs<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>When is the deadline?<\/td><td>No deadline (but you can only claim for up to 4 tax years)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does my partner receive it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>HMRC will give your partner their extra allowance either:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As a cheque:&nbsp;when you backdate it<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By changing their <a href=\"\/en-uk\/glossary\/tax-code\/\">tax code<\/a>&nbsp;&#8211; it will show in the PAYE <a href=\"\/en-uk\/glossary\/payslip\/\">payslip<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Through their&nbsp;Self Assessment tax return<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>My partner has died&nbsp;since 5 April 2015, can I apply?&nbsp;Yes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I am getting a&nbsp;pension, can I apply?&nbsp;Yes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I live abroad, can I apply?&nbsp;Yes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do I need to&nbsp;apply every year?&nbsp;No, unless circumstances change<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What if we&nbsp;divorce? You must cancel the Allowance &#8211;&nbsp;contact HMRC<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What if my&nbsp;income increases? You must&nbsp;contact HMRC<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I was&nbsp;born before 1935, can I apply?&nbsp;No, but there is a better allowance for you &#8211; the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/calculate-married-couples-allowance\">Married Couples\u2019 Allowance<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Marriage Allowance is a simple way for couples to save on tax. You transfer \u00a31,260 (10%) of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife, or civil partner if they earn more than you. In 2024\/25 tax year, this reduces\u00a0their\u00a0tax by up to \u00a3260. Are we eligible? Yes, if: How much can my partner get? [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[432,427],"tags":[416,102,415],"class_list":["post-186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to-reduce-the-tax-you-pay","category-the-tax-basics","tag-benefits-reliefs-grants","tag-hmrc","tag-tax-return-basics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How does the Marriage Allowance work? &#8211; Taxfix<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you married or in a civil partnership? 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