December 13th, 2019Can I claim Marriage Allowance or Married Couple’s Allowance?
Marriage Allowance
Marriage Allowance allows you to transfer up to £1,250 of your personal allowance to your spouse or civil partner. This in turn reduces their tax by up to £250 in a given tax year.
In order to qualify as a couple:
- You must be married or in a civil partnership (co-habitees don’t qualify)
- The lower earner (the one transferring some of their personal allowance) must have income below the usual personal allowance (currently £12,500)
- The recipient must be a basic rate taxpayer (i.e. earnings of up to £50,000 for the current tax year)
It is possible to backdate a claim for any tax years since 5 April 2015 where the conditions were met to qualify for Marriage Allowance.
You need to make the claim yourself (this needs to be made by the lower earner) and this can be done here.
Married Couple’s Allowance
If you or your partner were born prior to 6 April 1935, Married Couple’s Allowance might be a better option. Please note you cannot claim both Marriage Allowance and Married Couple’s Allowance at the same time.
Married Couple’s Allowance can reduce your tax by between £345 and £891.50 in a given tax year.
In order to qualify for Married Couple’s Allowance, all of the following conditions need to be met:
- You must be married or in a civil partnership (co-habitees don’t qualify)
- You live with your spouse or civil partner*
- One of you was born prior to 6 April 1935
* You may still be entitled to claim Married Couple’s Allowance where you live apart in the following circumstances:
- Illness or old age (e.g. spouse or civil partner in residential care)
- Working away from home
- Armed forces posting
- In prison
- Away due to training or education
If you were married before 5 December 2005, the husband’s income is used to determine the amount of allowance available. If you were married or entered into a civil partnership after this date, it is the income of the higher earner that determines the allowance.
HMRC have a Married Couple’s Allowance calculator that can help work out what you could get. This can be found here.
To claim Married Couple’s Allowance, you either need to complete the relevant section in the self-assessment tax return, or for those who are not required to complete a self-assessment tax return, you can make a claim by contacting HMRC with details of your marriage/ civil partnership ceremony and your spouse/ civil partner, including dates of birth. Details on how to contact HMRC can be found here.
