Marriage Allowance 2026/27 — Claim £1,260

Marriage Allowance transfers £1,260 of PA from a lower earner to a basic-rate spouse, saving up to £252 in Income Tax. Who qualifies and how to claim.

If you’re married or in a civil partnership and one of you earns below the Personal Allowance while the other earns within the basic-rate band, you can transfer £1,260 of unused allowance between you — saving the household up to £252 in Income Tax for 2026/27. HMRC calls this Marriage Allowance. It’s straightforward to claim but easy to overlook if your incomes shift year-to-year.

The deal in one sentence

The lower earner gives £1,260 of their £12,570 Personal Allowance to the higher earner, who then pays tax on £1,260 less of their income at 20%.

Saving = £1,260 × 20% = £252/year (England, Wales, NI). Scotland: slightly less because the Scottish basic rate replaces the 20% in the calculation for Scottish taxpayers.

Who qualifies for 2026/27

Both of you must meet the criteria:

  1. You’re married or in a civil partnership. Cohabiting without a formal registration — even for decades — doesn’t count. HMRC checks via HMCTS records.
  2. The lower earner’s total income for 2026/27 is at or below the Personal Allowance of £12,570. This is total taxable income — wages, pension, rental income, bank interest above the Personal Savings Allowance, etc. — not just salary.
  3. The higher earner’s total income is between £12,571 and £50,270. They must be a basic-rate taxpayer (20% band). If they cross into higher rate at 40%, eligibility is lost that year.
  4. Both of you were born on or after 6 April 1935. If either was born before, you may qualify for the older Married Couple’s Allowance instead, which is more generous.

Scotland: the higher earner must be a Scottish basic-rate taxpayer for the year — roughly the same threshold as the rest of the UK but calculated against the Scottish bands. Eligibility usually mirrors UK rules at typical salaries.

What the tax codes look like after the transfer

HMRC adjusts tax codes to collect the saving through PAYE:

  • Receiver (higher earner) — code changes from 1257L to 1383M. The 1383 comes from £13,830 ÷ 10 (extra £1,260 added to PA); the M suffix confirms you received MA.
  • Transferrer (lower earner) — code changes from 1257L to 1131N. £11,310 ÷ 10 = 1131; N suffix confirms you gave up MA.

If either of your tax codes doesn’t update automatically after you claim, contact HMRC — an out-of-date code means the saving isn’t flowing through your payslips.

Worked example for 2026/27

Imogen earns £35,000 (basic-rate band). Her husband Rafe is a full-time parent with no taxable income.

Before Marriage Allowance:

  • Imogen’s tax: (£35,000 − £12,570) × 20% = £4,486
  • Rafe’s tax: £0 (income below PA)
  • Household tax: £4,486

After Marriage Allowance (Rafe transfers £1,260 to Imogen):

  • Imogen’s effective PA: £13,830; tax: (£35,000 − £13,830) × 20% = £4,234
  • Rafe’s effective PA: £11,310 — but his income is £0 so no tax anyway
  • Household tax: £4,234

Saving: £252/year. The full amount flows to Imogen via a code change to 1383M, collected automatically through her payslips (roughly £21/month extra take-home).

Backdating — claim for past years too

You can backdate a Marriage Allowance claim up to four tax years. On 19 April 2026 you can still claim back to 2022/23. HMRC refunds the saving for each qualifying year, usually by bank transfer or as a tax-code adjustment.

Back-year savings aren’t quite £252 each because rates/thresholds have moved — but they’re close:

  • 2022/23: £252
  • 2023/24: £252
  • 2024/25: £252
  • 2025/26: £252
  • 2026/27: £252

Total potential if all five years qualify: £1,260. Worth five minutes of admin.

How to claim

The transferring partner (lower earner) applies. Two options:

  1. Online — fastest: gov.uk/apply-marriage-allowance. Log in with Government Gateway. You’ll need both your National Insurance numbers and proof of identity (P60, passport, or 2-3 security questions).
  2. By phone — 0300 200 3300. Have both NI numbers, the marriage/civil partnership date, and income details ready.

Processing is usually 2-4 weeks. HMRC emails confirmation and updates both tax codes. The employer payroll adjusts from the next pay period.

When Marriage Allowance stops being worth it

You should stop claiming if:

  • Lower earner’s income rises above £12,570 — they now need their full PA themselves, so giving £1,260 away increases their own tax bill by more than the couple saves.
  • Higher earner crosses into 40% band — they’re no longer a basic-rate taxpayer; eligibility lost.
  • You separate / divorce — claim must be cancelled from the separation date.

You cancel the claim via the same online service or by phone. If you forget to cancel and your circumstances change mid-year, HMRC will reconcile at year-end and may issue a bill — or adjust the following year’s code.

Common mistakes

  • Claiming when the lower earner has no tax but uses their PA on a small pension — giving away £1,260 means that £1,260 of pension is now taxable. The household could actually lose money.
  • Not cancelling after a pay rise — the lower earner now pays tax on the £1,260 they gave away, but the couple keeps saving on the higher earner’s side only if they stay in the basic-rate band. Worth modelling both sides.
  • Both partners try to claim — only the lower earner applies. If both apply, HMRC resolves it but it slows things down.

Check if Marriage Allowance improves your household take-home

Our salary calculator has a Marriage Allowance toggle under “More options”. Model it with your and your partner’s actual 2026/27 incomes — the calculator shows whether the £252 saving applies after accounting for both sides’ tax positions.