What is the Marriage Allowance?

To qualify for the Marriage Allowance, throughout the tax year (6th April to the following 5th April) you must both be: 

• Not higher or additional rate taxpayers, 
• UK resident and domiciled, 
• Married or in a civil partnership with one another; and 
• Born on or after 6th April 1935.

If you and your partner are eligible for Marriage Allowance, you can register your interest with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online. You’ll get an email from HMRC confirming your application. At present, you can backdate your claim to include any tax year since 5th April 2015 that you were eligible for Marriage Allowance. However, from 6th April 2020 the ability to claim the allowance for the earliest year, 2015/16, will be lost since claims may only be made for the current tax year and the four previous tax years.

If you'd like to discuss your personal tax affairs in more detail, please call 020 3941 2011 or complete our simple online enquiry form.

Date published 2 Mar 2018 | Last updated 25 Sep 2020

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.