It’s helpful to learn how Marriage and Couple’s Allowances work. They are usually increased each year. Increases usually start at the starting of the tax year (April 6th).
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Marriage Allowance
If you are married or in a civil partnership, one of you can give up to £1,260 from your Personal Allowance to the other. This is a bit more than 10% of the simple £12,570 Personal Allowance for the 2023-24 tax time. (Basic Personal Allowance is the money you do not need to pay tax on.)
This moving of money cuts down a partner’s taxes by up to £252 in the time period from April 6th till next year’s April 5th. Sometimes, Marriage Allowance is called the Marriage Tax Allowance.
You might qualify for Marriage Allowance if:
- You are married or in a relationship that is like marriage, but not getting Married Couple’s Allowance.
- You do not have to pay income tax or you make less than your Personal Allowance so you are not responsible for taxes. This often means making less than £12,570 in 2023-24.
- Your partner’s income tax is just the basic rate, so they do not have to pay extra at higher or additional rates. This usually means your partner earns between £12,571 and £50,270 before getting Marriage Allowance. If you are in Scotland, your mate needs to pay the starting or middle rate. This usually means their income is between £12,571 and £43,662.
Marriage Allowance is extra money given to the person who makes more. It is £1,260 added to their basic Personal Allowance. Of the money given to a spouse in Marriage Allowance – 20% is taken off their taxes. This is not the same as Personal Allowance, which is taken out from taxable income before figuring out how much tax to pay.
The tax rules of the person getting Marriage Allowance will often change to ‘M’. This means they are receiving Marriage Allowance from their spouse. If the person who gave their Personal Allowance has a job, their tax code will change to ‘N’. This shows they have chosen to use the Marriage Allowance.
Getting Marriage Allowance for years before this one
You must meet the requirements every year you want to apply. Remember that the limit for people who do not pay taxes and those in the lowest tax rate changes depending on what year you’re asking about.
You can claim for up to four years that happened in the past. You can go to the GOV.UK website and apply online for HMRC.
Important Links
Using Marriage Allowance when your partner is gone
If your husband or wife died after 2016 and you meet the other conditions for Marriage Allowance – you can still ask for the help. You will ask for the benefit to start from before, up to four years.
Married Couple’s Allowance
If one or both partners were born before April 6, 1935 they may be able to get a bigger payment called Married Couple’s Allowance. For marriages before December 5, 2005, the husband’s earnings are used to figure out Married Couple’s Allowance. Even though it can be passed to the wife.
For marriages and civil partnerships after this date, it is the highest earner’s income. The Married Couple’s Allowance gets a 10% tax break. The gain has high and low limits for both the tax that can be asked for and how much that can be earned. For the 2023-24 tax year, this might save your money on taxes by £364 to £941.50 each year.
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