HMRC has urged married couples and civil partners to apply for Marriage Allowance, a tax break that can raise one partner's Personal Allowance to £13,830 and save up to £252 a year. The standard Personal Allowance has been frozen at £12,570 since 2021, drawing criticism for causing fiscal drag as wages rise with inflation.
How Marriage Allowance Works
The scheme allows a non-taxpaying partner to transfer 10% of their unused Personal Allowance to their spouse or civil partner. To qualify, one partner must earn less than £12,570, and the higher earner must have an income between £12,571 and £50,270 (£43,662 in Scotland). HMRC confirmed claims can be backdated up to four tax years, potentially yielding a lump sum over £1,000.
HMRC stated: "Marriage Allowance keeps money in your pocket by reducing the amount of tax you and your spouse pay by up to £252 a year. You can check your eligibility and apply on GOV.UK. Search 'Marriage Allowance' to find out more."
Martin Lewis Backs the Scheme
Personal finance expert Martin Lewis has promoted the allowance on his ITV programme. He explained that it effectively delivers a £1,260 tax saving for couples, backdated four years plus the current year. "Clearly you have to be married or civil partners. Then what happens is this, each of you have your £12,570 personal allowance," he said. "The non-taxpayer can apply to Gov.uk to move 10% of their tax-free allowance across to the basic rate taxpayer."
Under this arrangement, the non-taxpayer retains an allowance of £11,310, while the partner gets a combined allowance of £13,830. "Now that 10% extra tax-free allowance they have, remember they would have paid tax on it at 20%, so the gain there is £252 a year," Lewis added.
Real-Life Example
One couple shared their experience on Martin Lewis's show: "I had retired on medical grounds so I was not paying tax... Following the show, I went on to the gov.uk website and was surprised how easy it was to complete the forms. We are benefiting from about £250 a year in tax allowance. I was able to claim, I think it was about 4 years of back tax, which was about £1,000. And we used that £1,000 to have a rather nice holiday in Cornwall."
Eligibility and Backdating
Approximately 2.1 million eligible couples have not claimed the allowance. Those who apply can receive a lump sum of £1,260, covering the current year and four prior tax years. The amounts per tax year are: 2026/27 £252, 2025/26 £252, 2024/25 £252, 2023/24 £252, 2022/23 £252. In Scotland, the higher earner's income must be between £12,571 and £43,662. Couples can apply via the GOV.UK website.
