HMRC Urges Married Couples to Check Eligibility for Marriage Allowance

HM Revenue and Customs is urging married couples and civil partners across Britain to check whether they qualify for the marriage allowance. The allowance lets one partner transfer up to £1,260 of an unused personal allowance to the other, raising the recipient's tax-free threshold from £12,570 to as much as £13,830. The change reduces the amount of income tax paid by the household.

One partner must earn less than the £12,570 personal allowance threshold. The other partner must pay income tax at the basic rate on earnings between £12,571 and £50,270. Couples who were eligible in prior tax years can backdate claims for up to four years. HMRC provides an online calculator for couples to estimate potential savings.

Stinton, senior personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said awareness of the allowance remains limited. She noted that marriage and civil partnership also allow tax-free asset transfers and inheritance-tax nil-rate band transfers unavailable to unmarried couples.

Stinton added that the legal status provides clearer rules on asset division and tax-free allowances that cohabiting partners do not receive.