Claiming the Marriage Allowance can save couples up to £252 in tax every year.
If you are married and a basic rate taxpayer, and your spouse earns below the personal allowance of £12,570 (for the current tax year), they may be able to transfer 10% of their personal allowance to you, resulting in additional tax relief of £1,260 (based on 2022/23 figures).
HMRC are keen to point out that this financial support is readily available for married couples whose earnings are below the personal allowance and the basic rate tax threshold of £50,270 respectively. You can claim if you are married or in a civil partnership, but not if you live together but are not married.
If you qualified in earlier years, claims can be backdated to April 2018. You can claim online, through self assessment or by writing to HMRC.
It is also worth bearing in mind if your circumstances change – for example a change in work, paternity, maternity, career break or studying can all have an impact on earnings and may mean you qualify now, even if you did not when you first got married.
If you would like to look at Marriage Allowance in more detail you can search for ‘Marriage Allowance’ on www.gov.uk or talk to your usual contact at A C Mole.
