What is the Marriage Allowance?
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In short: A way for a non-taxpayer spouse to transfer £1,260 of unused Personal Allowance to a basic-rate-paying partner, saving £252 a year.
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Marriage Allowance lets one partner (the lower earner) transfer £1,260 of their Personal Allowance to the other (the higher earner). The higher earner gets a tax saving of £252 a year (£1,260 × 20%).
To qualify you must be married or in a civil partnership, the lower earner must earn under the Personal Allowance (£12,570 in 2026/27), and the higher earner must be a basic-rate taxpayer (earning up to £50,270).
You can backdate the claim by up to four tax years if you were eligible in those years. Apply free on gov.uk — never pay a third-party 'claim service' that charges a percentage commission.
Primary source: gov.uk/marriage-allowance
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