Married couples & civil partners
How much could Marriage Allowance save you?
If one of you earns under the £12,570 Personal Allowance and the other pays basic-rate tax, you can transfer £1,260 of unused allowance between you — worth up to £252 a year, and up to £1,260 if you backdate. Put both incomes in and see your real saving as a couple.
Your two incomes for 2026/27
Total taxable income for each of you — salary, self-employment profit or pension. Nothing is sent anywhere; this runs entirely in your browser.
What Marriage Allowance actually is
Marriage Allowance lets the lower-earning partner move £1,260 of their tax-free Personal Allowance across to their husband, wife or civil partner. The receiving partner's tax bill then falls by 20% of £1,260 — up to £252 a year. It only helps when one of you isn't using all of their £12,570 allowance and the other is paying basic-rate (20%) tax, so the moved allowance actually saves tax at the receiving end that it wasn't saving at the giving end.
You can backdate four years
You can claim for this tax year and backdate to 2022/23. The Personal Allowance has been frozen at £12,570 that whole time, so each eligible year is worth the same £252 — up to £1,260 in total if you were eligible for all five years. Backdated amounts are usually paid out as a cheque or bank transfer.
Who can claim
- You're married or in a civil partnership — simply living together doesn't count
- One of you is a non-taxpayer — income at or below the £12,570 Personal Allowance
- The other is a basic-rate taxpayer — income roughly £12,571 to £50,270
- Neither of you was born before 6 April 1935 (Married Couple's Allowance may beat it if so)
- You apply free through GOV.UK — never pay a third-party service a cut to do it
More free tools
Common questions
How much is Marriage Allowance worth?
You transfer £1,260 of Personal Allowance, which cuts the receiving partner's tax by up to £252 in the 2026/27 tax year. The exact saving depends on both incomes: if the transferring partner earns between £11,310 and £12,570 they start paying a little tax themselves, which reduces the net gain — the calculator above works out your real figure.
Can I backdate a Marriage Allowance claim?
Yes. You can backdate to the 2022/23 tax year — four earlier years plus the current one. Because the £12,570 Personal Allowance has been frozen throughout, each year is worth up to £252, so a full backdated claim can be worth up to £1,260.
Who should be the one to transfer the allowance?
The lower earner — the partner who isn't using all of their £12,570 Personal Allowance — transfers it to the higher earner, provided that higher earner is a basic-rate taxpayer. If you get it the wrong way round you could increase your combined tax rather than reduce it.
Does Marriage Allowance work if one of us is self-employed?
Yes. It's based on taxable income, not how you earn it, so a self-employed partner with profits below £12,570 can transfer their unused allowance to an employed or self-employed basic-rate partner. If either of you files a Self Assessment return, you claim it on the return.
Do higher-rate taxpayers get Marriage Allowance?
No. The receiving partner has to be a basic-rate taxpayer — broadly income between £12,571 and £50,270. If they pay 40% tax, you can't use Marriage Allowance (though you may benefit from pension contributions or other reliefs instead).
One of you self-employed? See the whole picture
Marriage Allowance is one line of a couple's tax position. If either of you is self-employed, the bigger number is the Self Assessment bill itself — Income Tax, Class 4 National Insurance and what to set aside each month. That's exactly what our Tax Estimator is built for.
- Self Assessment Tax Estimator 2026/27 — your whole bill, salary plus self-employment, with the monthly set-aside worked out for you.
- Freelance Day-Rate & Profit Calculator — work backwards from the take-home you need.
- Rental Property ROI & Yield Calculator — for couples with a buy-to-let.
- Invoice Tracker & Log — paid, outstanding and overdue, automatically.
Excel and Google Sheets. Working formulas, not just formatting. Built and checked by us, with AI assistance, and every calculation verified.
Get the Tax Estimator — £9 →£9 on its own, or all four tools for £19, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.