UK Marriage Allowance Calculator

About the UK Marriage Allowance Calculator

Marriage Allowance lets a husband, wife or civil partner whose income is below the Personal Allowance transfer £1,260 of it to their partner, cutting the partner’s tax by up to £252 a year (GOV.UK). A claim can also be backdated to each of the 4 tax years before this one, so a couple who has never claimed can get up to £1,260 in all.

Enter both incomes for each tax year the claim can cover. The calculator checks who should transfer, whether the partner who receives it pays tax only at the basic rate (in Scotland the starter, basic or intermediate rate), and works out the saving as a couple for every year with that year’s bands: the partner’s tax reduction less any extra tax the lower earner pays on a smaller allowance. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Without a pass, the free preview shows what Marriage Allowance saves you in all, with the first rows of the year-by-year table and the first step of the working; a Pro pass unlocks every figure: this year, the backdated refunds, each year’s working, the summary to copy, the CSV and printing.

Common uses

• A couple where one partner stays at home, works part time or studies.
• Checking whether a missed claim is worth backdating, and how much the refund would be.
• A partner who retires on a small pension while the other still works.

Who can claim

• You are married or in a civil partnership; living together is not enough.
• The lower earner usually has income below their Personal Allowance (£12,570), or pays no Income Tax.
• The partner who receives it pays tax only at the basic rate: usually income from £12,571 to £50,270 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or at the starter, basic or intermediate rate in Scotland, usually up to £43,662 (GOV.UK).
• If either of you was born before 6 April 1935, Married Couple’s Allowance may give you more, and you cannot have both (GOV.UK).

A pension, or living abroad while you still get a Personal Allowance, does not stop a claim.

How the saving is worked out

The lower earner’s Personal Allowance falls by £1,260 (10% of £12,570, rounded up to the next £10), and the partner’s Income Tax is reduced by 20% of £1,260: £252, or their whole tax bill if that is less. The reduction is 20% for Scottish taxpayers too (HMRC PAYE13112). If the lower earner’s income is above their new allowance, they pay tax on the difference, so the couple saves £252 less that tax. When the lower earner already pays tax, the transfer usually costs them as much as it saves their partner.

Backdating to earlier years

A claim can be backdated to every tax year that ended in the last 4 years in which you were eligible; each year’s claim must be made within 4 years of the end of that year (5 April). The Personal Allowance was £12,570 in each of these years, so each is worth up to £252 (GOV.UK). To backdate, GOV.UK’s route is the postal form MATCF; HMRC then reduces your partner’s tax bill for each backdated year, so tax already paid for it comes back. If your partner has since died, you can backdate the claim by calling the Income Tax helpline (apply by post). The current year comes through the partner’s tax code, which ends in M (the one who transfers gets N).

Applying and cancelling

The lower earner applies online on GOV.UK, or in their Self Assessment return (how to apply); if you both send returns, the one who transfers files at least 3 days before the other. A claim that goes back to earlier years uses the postal form MATCF (apply by post). The allowance then transfers every year until it is cancelled, so cancel it if your relationship ends or your income changes and you are no longer eligible.

Limitations

• The incomes are taken as pay, pensions and profits. If either of you has savings, dividends or other income, GOV.UK says you may need to work out who should claim, and points to the Income Tax helpline if you are unsure.
• Tax years from 2022-23 to 2026-27; a tax year the calculator does not have rates for is shown as such.
• Both partners are taken to live in the nation you choose. Blind Person’s Allowance and other allowances are not included.
• An estimate from HMRC’s published rates, not tax advice: HMRC decides each claim.
• MySmartCoPilot is not affiliated with or endorsed by HMRC.

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