What is Marriage Allowance?
Reviewed by Assistant Operations Manager, Helen Lambkin
Reviewed by Helen Lambkin Helen Lambkin LinkedIn
Helen has been part of the RIFT family for over 12 years, and for the last 8 years, she’s been serving as our Assistant Operations Manager. She’s the go-to person for making sure the team is fully...
Read More about Helen LambkinA lot of couples in the UK aren’t getting the most from their Marriage Tax Allowance. Are you one of them? A wrinkle in the tax rules means that, if they’re eligible, married couples can save £252 in tax each year. You can see if one of you is using the allowance because you'll have the tax code 1383M for receiving it and tax code N for granting it to your partner. If you missed the boat on this in previous years, you can even backdate your Marriage Allowance claim so you don't lose out! Let’s take a look at what the Marriage Allowance system’s all about.
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How does Marriage Allowance work?
The Marriage Allowance scheme is pretty simple:
| Tax Free Personal Allowance | Transferable Amount |
| Earning less than £12,570 (2024/25 tax year) | £1,260 |
That counts for civil partnerships as well as marriages. As long as your partner isn’t earning more than the upper threshold for Basic Rate tax of £50,270, you can qualify.
| Amount you won't get taxed per year | Combined saving per year |
| £1,260 | £252 |
That’s assuming you had £1,260 of unused Personal allowance to transfer, of course. If not, claiming Marriage Allowance might suddenly see you paying some tax you weren’t before – although it could still work out better overall. The tax thresholds and Personal Allowance obviously change over time, but you can still claim back your tax for the last 4 years. The idea of Marriage Allowance is to make sure people get the full benefit of their Personal Allowance, even if they can’t use all of it themselves. Pensioners can apply, too - as can people living abroad, as long as they've got a Personal Allowance to transfer. Remember that you don't even need to have an income to have a Personal Allowance - so don't think you'll be left out because you aren't earning. Your partner will get a new tax code, while yours will sprout an M at the end of it. Those changes are nothing to worry about and we have everything you need to know on our tax codes explained pages.
You can see if you are receiving the Marriage Allowance as your tax code will be 1383M for receiving it and your partner will be on tax code N for granting it to you.
How do I make marriage allowance claim?
If you’ve already chosen RIFT to tackle HMRC for you, then you won’t have to lift a finger or pay a penny to claim your Marriage Allowance. We’ll do it automatically when we handle your tax refunds or returns, with no extra charge!
If you’re going it alone, you can get it all done online at the government website, as long as you’ve got both of your National Insurance numbers handy. Some proof of your identities will also be needed, as usual when you’re dealing with HMRC.
Once you're using the Marriage Allowance you'll see your tax code has been updated to 1383M to show that you have the additional 10% of your partner's allowance added to yours. They will now have a tax code N for granting it to you.
Marriage Allowance is a great way to lighten your financial load a little each year, and it shouldn’t be a real strain to claim it. When it comes to the heavy lifting of Self Assessment and tax refunds, though, that’s where the real experts get to work. Specialist help from RIFT means more money in your pocket and no hassles from HMRC. Get in touch with all your tax questions, problems and concerns, and let us show you why you’re always better off with RIFT.
Free tax refund checker: Our tax rebate calculator will give you an instant estimate of how much tax you could be owed back from HMRC
What happens if my circumstances change?
Once you've set your Marriage Allowance up, you don't need to apply again unless your situation changes. Obviously, getting divorced means you can no longer make a Marriage Allowance claim, for example. The death of either partner will do the same, naturally enough. You can even cancel it yourself if you need to for any reason.
Since there are income thresholds involved, a change in either your earnings or your partner’s can also affect your Marriage Allowance claim. For example, if you suddenly start making more than your Personal Allowance, you won’t have any extra to transfer to your spouse or partner. In the same way, if you find yourself bumped into a higher tax bracket, you no longer qualify to receive Marriage Allowance at all. When something changes in your circumstances and you’re not sure if you still qualify for (or benefit from) the Marriage Allowance scheme, talk to RIFT tax refunds to keep yourself on the right track.
Marriage Allowance FAQs
Will claiming Marriage Allowance change my tax code?
Yes, both you and your spouse will have your tax codes changed when you claim Marriage Allowance. The partner who’s giving part of their Personal Allowance to the other will now have an N code. The one who’s receiving it will get an M code.
Can higher rate taxpayers claim Marriage Allowance?
No. In order to claim Marriage Allowance, the partner receiving the extra portion of Personal Allowance must only be paying Income Tax at the basic rate, while the one transferring it must be earning less than their own Personal Allowance.
You can see if you are receiving the Marriage Allowance as you will be on tax code 1383M.
How does being on Maternity Leave affect Marriage Allowance?
If your income while on Maternity Leave is below your Personal Allowance, and your partner pays tax at the basic rate, then you can claim Marriage Allowance to transfer some of your unused Personal Allowance to them.
Their tax code will then change to 1383M and you will be on tax code N for granting it to them.
Other tax relief for married couples
Marriage Allowance isn’t the only way that couples can benefit from tax relief. Being married can also bring down your tax bills by:
- Reducing the Capital Gains Tax you owe: Gifts to a spouse usually won’t count for Capital Gains Tax unless you’re “disposing” of assets to them for their business to sell.
- Lowering any Inheritance Tax payable on your estate: Anything over the Inheritance Tax threshold that you leave to a spouse or civil partner is tax-free.
- You can read more about how these kinds of tax relief work in our guides, “Capital Gains Tax Advice” and “The Difference between Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax”.
