Marriage Allowance

Wednesday July 2018

Marriage Allowance is a way for couples to transfer a proportion of their individual Personal Allowance between them in a tax-efficient manner. For 2018/19, the maximum amount that can be transferred from one partner to the other is £1,190, which means that the spouse or civil partner receiving the transferred allowance will be entitled to a reduced income tax liability of up to £238 for 2018/19 (£1,190 @ 20%).

Where a couple satisfies the following criteria, it should be possible to claim the allowance:

• The couple must be either married or in a civil partnership – living together is not sufficient for the allowance to be claimed.
• One partner needs to be a non-taxpayer – which generally means they are earning less than the personal income tax allowance (£11,850 for 2018/19).
• The other partner needs to be a basic 20% rate taxpayer, which generally means they are earning less than £46,350 in 2018/19 (note that rates are different for Scottish taxpayers). Higher rate and additional rate taxpayers are not entitled to the allowance.
• Both partners must have been born on or after 6 April 1935.

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