Marriage Allowance Deadline Looming
14th March 2024
If you are married or in a civil partnership, you may be entitled to a tax refund of up to £1,256.
It has been reported that over 2 million qualifying couples miss out on the Marriage Allowance, despite it being really easy to apply. If the claim is made outside of the Self Assessment system, you’ll also automatically get the tax break each year going forward – so there’s no need to keep reapplying.
What is it?
The allowance enables couples to transfer up to 10% of their Personal Allowance to their spouse or civil partner.
Who is eligible?
The higher earner must have net income less than £50,270. There are various reliefs that can be deducted from gross income to arrive at the net income, but it does not necessarily mean that people paying tax at only the basic rate (by virtue of pension contributions/Gift Aid donations, for example) would be eligible.
How much can I get?
The Marriage Allowance for the 2023/24 tax year is worth up to £252.
In addition to the current year’s allowance, you can backdate your claim by up to four tax years too, provided you were eligible – currently 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23.
The amounts for each year are worth up to:
- 2023/24 – £252
- 2022/23 – £252
- 2021/22 – £252
- 2020/21 – £250
- 2019/20 – £250
This means that if you claim for this tax year and backdate the maximum four years, you’ll get up to £1,256.
However, the time limit for 2019/20 will lapse on 6 April 2024. So it’s important you don’t delay making the claim.
How to claim?
The transferor (the person making the transfer – usually the non-taxpayer) needs to apply for the Marriage Allowance. You can apply online, via the HMRC website, or by telephone (0300 200 3300).
You will need your and your partner’s National Insurance numbers and two of a range of different acceptable forms of ID for the non-taxpayer.
If you are within Self Assessment, the claim can be made each year on your tax return.
Other matters to consider
Our tax system is such that basic rate taxpayers can pay tax at different rates, depending on the type of income.
On the basis that the individuals are UK resident, if one individual (A) has just employment income, and the other individual (B) dividend income, even if their level of income is the same, they could benefit from making a claim. It may also be worthwhile making a claim where one individual’s income would otherwise be covered by the starting rate for savings. Note that this is not the case for non-UK resident individuals.
Get In Touch
For more information or advice, please contact your local Whitings LLP office today.
Disclaimer - All information in this post was correct at time of writing.
