Couples urged to apply for marriage allowance to save on tax

Elgible couples could save more than £200 a year

Married couples could save money through marriage allowance (Getty Images)

Married couples are being urged to take advantage of an allowance which could reduce the amount of tax they pay.

The marriage allowance allows couples or people in civil partnerships to share their personal tax allowance and save money on up to four years of tax.

Couples may be eligible if one partner earns below the personal allowance threshold of £12,570 and and the other pays Income Tax at the basic rate – usually on an income between £12,571 and £50,270.

If eligible, couples can transfer 10 per cent of their tax-free allowance to their partner and reduce the amount of tax they pay by up to £252 a year.

Couples may apply at any time – even if they have been married for years – and claims can be backdated by four years to include any tax year since April 2018.

Angela MacDonald, deputy chief executive and second permanent secretary at HM Revenue & Customs commented: “We want to ensure people are receiving vital financial support at a time when they need it most.

“Married couples or those in a civil partnership could potentially receive tax relief worth up to £1,242, meaning extra cash in their pockets.”

Couples can find out if they are eligible and how to apply here.

The allowance does not apply to couples who live together but are not married.

More than two million couples across the UK currently benefit from the allowance.

HMRC said it’s worth checking your eligibility if yours or your partner’s employment status has changed.

Also, if a spouse has died since 2018, the surviving partner can still claim by contacting the income tax helpline, HMRC said.

The marriage allowance was first introduced in 2015.

Research by insurance group Royal London, carried out in 2017, found that married people across the UK who hadn’t claimed the allowance could be collectively missing out on as much as £1.3bn.

Additional reporting by PA