Can you benefit from the marriage allowance
If you’re married or in a civil partnership, there’s a potential tax saving you might be overlooking. The Marriage Allowance is a straightforward HMRC scheme that allows one spouse or partner to transfer their unused personal allowance to the other, potentially saving hundreds of pounds each year. Yet many eligible couples don’t claim it. At Severn Accounting, we’re often surprised by how many clients have missed out simply because they weren’t aware it existed. Let’s look at how it works and whether you could benefit.
How the Marriage Allowance Works
The Marriage Allowance lets you transfer some of your Personal Allowance to your spouse or civil partner if you’re not using it. For the 2024/25 tax year, your Personal Allowance is £12,570 — the amount you can earn before paying income tax.
If you earn less than your Personal Allowance, you’re not using all of it. That unused portion can be transferred to your partner, increasing their allowance and reducing their tax bill. You can transfer up to half of your unused allowance, which currently means up to £1,260 per year.
The key requirement is that the lower earner must not be using their full Personal Allowance. Once you claim, HMRC calculates the benefit and you’ll receive a reduction in your tax code, meaning less tax is deducted from your pay throughout the year.
Who Can Claim Marriage Allowance?
Not everyone qualifies. To be eligible, you must:
- Be married or in a civil partnership
- Be under State Pension age (both partners)
- Have a combined income below the higher rate threshold
- Be a UK resident for tax purposes
- Not be claiming Working Tax Credit
Crucially, the higher earner must be a basic rate taxpayer (earning between £12,571 and £50,270 in 2024/25). If your partner pays tax at 40% or above, they’re not eligible to receive the transfer.
The lower earner — the one transferring their allowance — typically earns less than £12,570, so they don’t pay tax anyway. This might include someone who’s taken time out of the workforce, works part-time, or has modest self-employment income.
How Much Could You Save?
The tax saving depends on your partner’s tax rate. Since the higher earner in a Marriage Allowance claim is usually a basic rate taxpayer, the benefit is calculated at 20%.
If you transfer the maximum unused allowance (around £1,260), your partner saves roughly £252 per year in tax. Over several years, that adds up. And if your circumstances change — say, your income reduces or your partner’s increases — you can update or cancel your claim.
It’s worth noting: the transferring partner doesn’t lose out. Because their income remains below the tax threshold, they’re still not paying tax. You’re simply pooling your allowances more efficiently as a couple.
How to Claim Marriage Allowance
Claiming is straightforward and handled entirely through HMRC. You can apply online at gov.uk/marriage-allowance, and the process takes just a few minutes. You’ll need your National Insurance numbers and some basic information about both partners’ income.
You can backdate a claim by up to four years, which means if you’ve been eligible for several years but never claimed, you might receive a refund of previous tax years’ savings. This is genuinely valuable — don’t assume you can only benefit from now onwards.
Alternatively, if you find tax administration overwhelming, your accountant can handle the claim on your behalf. At Severn Accounting, we often spot Marriage Allowance eligibility when reviewing clients’ circumstances, and we’re happy to sort it out for you.
The Bottom Line
Marriage Allowance isn’t glamorous, and it won’t transform your finances overnight. But for eligible couples, it’s a genuine, legal way to reduce your tax bill with minimal effort. The scheme has been running since 2015, yet many people remain unaware of it.
If you think you might qualify — particularly if one partner works part-time or has reduced income — it’s absolutely worth investigating. The potential saving is real, and claims can be backdated, so there’s no rush, but there’s no reason to delay either.
For tailored advice, contact Severn Accounting — we’re here to help.