Marriage Allowance Claims
The Marriage Allowance was introduced on 6 April 2015 and allows you to transfer some of your personal allowance to your spouse. The amount is set by HMRC at 10% of the personal allowance (£1,250) therefore resulting in a tax saving of £250 for 2020/21.
Who can make the claim?
In order to claim the Marriage Allowance, you must meet certain criteria:
- You must be married or in a civil partnership
- You do not pay income tax or your earnings are below the personal allowance (usually £12,500 for 2020/21)
- Your partner pays income tax at the basic rate (20%), i.e. their total income is between £12,500 and £50,000
However if you or your partner were born before 6 April 1935, you are likely to be better off claiming the Married Couple’s Allowance.
How do we make the claim?
You can apply for the Marriage Allowance online via your Personal Tax Account. On the home page, there is an option which takes you through the eligibility checker before making the application.
If your partner has died, you can still make a claim for the period leading up to their death however this needs to be done by calling HMRC’s Income Tax Helpline on 0300 200 3300.
When should we make the claim?
If you would like the claim to be in place for future tax years, you should apply for the marriage allowance for the current tax year before it ends, i.e. for 2020/21, you should claim before 6 April 2021.
It is possible to make a backdated claim up to 4 years after the relevant tax year, here are the dates by which such claims need to be made:
- 2016/17 – 5 April 2021
- 2017/18 – 5 April 2022
- 2018/19 – 5 April 2023
- 2019/20 – 5 April 2024
Should you wish to cancel the claim, this can be done via your Personal Tax Account or over the phone.
If you would like to know more about the Marriage Allowance and how it may benefit you specifically, please do get in touch!
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