Marriage Tax Allowance: Claim Up to £1,258
30 Oct 2025 · 4 min read
What is Marriage Tax Allowance?
Marriage Tax Allowance is a simple UK tax perk for people who are married or in a civil partnership. If one of you earns below the personal allowance (usually £12,570) and the other pays tax at the basic 20% rate, the lower earner can transfer £1,260 of their allowance to their partner.
That transfer cuts the tax bill of the higher earner by up to £252 in the current tax year. You can also backdate up to four tax years (if you were eligible in those years), taking the total possible gain to around £1,258.
That's real money — and a lot of couples never claim it.
Who can claim (in plain English)
You can usually get Marriage Tax Allowance if:
You're married or in a civil partnership
Just living together doesn't qualify.
One of you doesn't pay income tax
That normally means your income is below £12,570.
To get the full benefit, it helps if you earn £11,310 or less — more on that below.
The other partner pays basic-rate tax
England, Wales, NI: they earn between £12,571 and £50,270.
Scotland: they earn between £12,571 and £43,662.
If they're higher-rate, you can't use this allowance.
If all three are true, you're in good territory.
Want to understand more about UK tax on savings and income? Read our complete guide on paying tax on savings interest in the UK.
How the saving actually happens
The lower earner tells HMRC, "I don't need all my allowance — give £1,260 of it to my partner."
HMRC then reduces the higher earner's tax — because £1,260 of their income is now tax-free.
20% of £1,260 = £252
That's the annual saving for the couple.
If you backdate for the previous four tax years (and were eligible in each), HMRC can send you the older years as a lump sum — bank transfer or cheque.
The key warning (people skip this 👇)
This allowance is great… except when the non-taxpayer is very close to the £12,570 threshold.
If the lower earner makes, say, £12,200, and transfers £1,260, their new allowance becomes £11,310.
That means they might start paying a bit of tax.
If the higher earner only had a tiny amount of taxable income, the couple's net gain can be very small — and in some edge cases, negative.
So: if the lower earner is between £11,310 and £12,570, run the numbers first. (HMRC's calculator will tell you; link below.)
Not sure how much tax you'll pay on your savings? Use our free UK savings tax calculator to work out your exact tax liability in seconds.
Why this matters for savers (DepositScout angle)
A £252 tax saving might not sound huge, but:
It's guaranteed — this is tax you don't have to pay.
You can backdate and get £1,000+ in one go.
That lump is exactly the kind of money people say they "don't have" to open a better-paying savings account or ISA.
So a very sensible move is:
Claim Marriage Tax Allowance
Backdate if eligible → take the £1,000ish payout
Move it straight into the best easy-access savings account or ISA
Let the account earn, not HMRC
That's literally turning tax you didn't need to pay into interest you now do get. Browse our live UK savings rates to find the best place to put that windfall.
How to apply (quick version)
Lower earner applies — not the higher earner.
Apply online at GOV.UK for the current tax year.
If you want to backdate several years, you'll need to apply by post.
Once it's set up, it usually rolls over each year until you tell HMRC to stop (eg, you start earning more / become a higher-rate taxpayer / separate).
When to avoid or cancel
The lower earner's income has risen and is now near or above £12,570
The higher earner is close to the higher-rate band
Your circumstances changed mid-year (divorce, moving abroad, new job)
You can tell HMRC to stop and go back to normal allowances.
Bottom line
Most eligible UK couples don't claim this.
It's legit, simple, and free via GOV.UK.
It's one of the few tax tweaks you can turn straight into savings.
Check it once a year — same time you check your savings rate.
Useful links