Marriage Allowance

Marriage Allowance is a small but worthwhile income-tax break for married couples and civil partners where one earner has unused personal allowance. The lower earner can transfer up to £1,260 of their allowance to the higher earner, who then saves up to £252 in income tax for the year.

To qualify:

• Both partners must be married or in a civil partnership.
• One partner’s income must be below the personal allowance (£12,570 in 2026).
• The receiving partner must be a basic-rate taxpayer — Marriage Allowance is not available where the recipient is at the higher rate or above.

The transfer is annual but rolls forward automatically once set up, so it doesn’t need to be claimed every year. It can also be backdated up to four tax years — meaning a couple who only just realised they’re eligible can claim a refund covering the prior tax years if the qualifying conditions held throughout.

Tax codes shift to reflect the transfer: the donor’s code typically becomes 1131N and the recipient’s becomes 1383M.

Use the PAYE calculator to model the impact of the M-coded recipient or the N-coded donor.