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It has been two years now since the Government introduced a tax-break for married people and civil partners but half of them have not yet used it. Are you one of them? Find out more about how much you can claim today!

Marriage Allowance criteria

To be able to apply for the Marriage Allowance you have to meet certain criteria.

• You have to be married or in a civil partnership.
• The income of one of the partner’s has to be under £11,500.
• The income of another partner has to be between £11,501 and £45,000.

Marriage Allowance can also be claimed if one of the partners:

• Is currently receiving a pension.
• Lives abroad and gets a Personal Allowance.

Note that if you or your partner was born before 6 April 1935, you might benefit more as a couple by applying for Married Couple’s Allowance. Therefore, do not forget to find out which Allowance is more beneficial in your case.

It is estimated that 4.2m couples are eligible for the marriage tax allowance.

How does it work?

The basic-rate taxpayer transfers £1,150 of their personal allowance to their spouse, who earns more. It means that £1,150 of income that the taxpayer would’ve paid 20% tax on is now tax-free. This reduces their tax bill by up to £230 in the tax year (6 April to 5 April the next year).

Back claim up to £690

Also, the good news is that you can now claim any tax year since 5 April 2015 if you were eligible for Marriage Allowance. So if you haven’t used it yet and your application is successful, you can get £690!

How to apply

You can apply for Marriage Allowance here. Even if you apply in the middle or end of the year and your application is successful, changes to your Personal Allowances will be backdated to the start of the tax year (6 April).

The extra allowance will be applied to the recipient by changing their tax code or when they fill in the Self-Assessment tax return, if they’re self-employed.

The Marriage Allowance stops when one of the partners cancels it, the couple gets divorced, one of the partners dies or there is an increase in income.

If you need more information or help applying for the Allowance, do not hesitate to contact Right Accounts. We are ready to help!