Marriage Allowance 2026/27: Claim Up to £252 a Year (and Backdate 4 Years)
Marriage Allowance 2026/27: Claim Up to £252 a Year (and Backdate 4 Years)
There is up to £252 a year sitting on HMRC's books for couples who haven't claimed Marriage Allowance, and because the claim can be backdated up to four tax years, a first-time claim can be worth more than £1,200 in one go. Yet hundreds of thousands of eligible couples have never claimed it.
If one of you earns less than the Personal Allowance and the other is a basic-rate taxpayer, this is one of the simplest tax savings available. Here's exactly how it works for 2026/27, who should claim, and who should not.
Try it yourself: the Marriage Allowance Calculator checks whether you qualify and shows your exact saving in seconds.
What Marriage Allowance actually is
Marriage Allowance lets the lower-earning partner in a marriage or civil partnership transfer £1,260 of their unused Personal Allowance to their higher-earning partner, provided that partner is a basic-rate taxpayer.
The Personal Allowance for 2026/27 is £12,570, the amount you can earn before paying any Income Tax. Marriage Allowance transfers 10% of it (£1,260) from someone who isn't using all of theirs to someone who is. The receiving partner then pays 20% less tax on that £1,260, which is where the £252 saving comes from (£1,260 × 20% = £252).
It is a transfer of allowance, not of money or income. Nobody sends anyone a cheque, HMRC simply adjusts both partners' tax codes. The full rules are set out on the gov.uk Marriage Allowance page.
The 2026/27 maths
Here is the calculation in full for the current tax year:
| Item | 2026/27 figure |
|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | £12,570 |
| Transferable amount (10%) | £1,260 |
| Basic rate of Income Tax | 20% |
| Annual saving (£1,260 × 20%) | £252 |
The Personal Allowance is frozen until April 2030, so the £252 figure will stay the same for several years unless the rules change.
The saving goes to the higher-earning partner (the one who receives the allowance). The lower earner gives up £1,260 of allowance they weren't using anyway, so in most cases they lose nothing.
Backdating: up to four tax years
This is the part most people miss. If you were eligible in earlier years but never claimed, you can backdate your claim to include any tax year since 5 April 2022 that you qualified for. That's up to four previous years plus the current one.
At roughly £250 a year, a full backdated claim can be worth around £1,250 or more as a single payment, usually paid by cheque or bank transfer for the past years, with the current year applied through your tax code.
You don't need to do anything special to backdate, when you apply, HMRC asks which years you want to claim, and you tick the ones you were eligible for.
Who qualifies
To claim Marriage Allowance for 2026/27, all of the following must be true:
- You are married or in a civil partnership (simply living together does not count).
- The lower earner has income below the Personal Allowance, generally under £12,570, so they aren't using all of it.
- The higher earner is a basic-rate taxpayer, with income between £12,571 and £50,270. (In Scotland, the higher earner must be a starter, basic or intermediate-rate taxpayer.)
If both of you earn above the Personal Allowance, or the higher earner is a higher or additional-rate taxpayer, you generally cannot benefit, see below.
Use the Income Tax Calculator to confirm which band each of you falls into before claiming.
Who should NOT claim
Marriage Allowance is not always free money. There are situations where it can actually cost you:
- The higher earner is a higher-rate taxpayer (over £50,270). They cannot receive the allowance, so the claim simply fails or, in edge cases near the threshold, provides no benefit.
- The lower earner has income between £11,310 and £12,570. By giving away £1,260 of allowance, the lower earner may push themselves into paying tax. The couple can still come out ahead overall, but it's worth checking, the lower earner could end up with a small tax bill that partly offsets the higher earner's saving.
- One of you receives certain income-tested benefits or has a more complex tax position. Always check the net household effect.
The golden case is simple: one partner earning well under £12,570 (or nothing at all), the other earning comfortably within the basic-rate band. That's where the full £252 lands with no downside.
How to apply
The lower-earning partner makes the claim, it's their allowance being transferred. Apply free through HMRC:
- Go to the Marriage Allowance application on gov.uk.
- Sign in with your Government Gateway user ID (or create one, you'll need your National Insurance number and a form of ID such as a recent payslip, P60 or passport).
- Enter both partners' details and choose which years to backdate.
You should never pay a third-party service to claim Marriage Allowance. Some companies charge a fee or take a cut of the refund for doing something HMRC offers for free.
When it auto-cancels
Once granted, Marriage Allowance carries over automatically each tax year until you cancel it or your circumstances change. It ends if:
- You divorce or dissolve your civil partnership (you can choose when to stop it).
- One partner dies (the allowance can still be backdated by the surviving partner for earlier years).
- Your incomes change so that you no longer qualify, for example, the lower earner starts earning above the Personal Allowance, or the higher earner moves into the higher-rate band. You must tell HMRC, as continuing to claim when ineligible can create a tax bill.
You can cancel online or by phone. If you cancel because of a relationship breakdown, the change is usually applied from the start of the next tax year.
Marriage Allowance vs Married Couple's Allowance
These two are constantly confused, so to be clear:
- Marriage Allowance (the subject of this article) is for couples where one partner doesn't use all their Personal Allowance. It saves up to £252 a year.
- Married Couple's Allowance is a separate, older relief available only where at least one partner was born before 6 April 1935. It works differently (it reduces the tax bill directly and is worth considerably more), and the two cannot be claimed together.
If you or your partner were born before 6 April 1935, look at Married Couple's Allowance instead, it's the more valuable of the two.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Marriage Allowance worth in 2026/27? Up to £252 a year for the current tax year, plus up to roughly £250 for each backdated year you qualified for since April 2022.
Can we claim if we're not married but live together? No. You must be legally married or in a civil partnership. Cohabiting couples are not eligible, however long they've been together.
Who actually applies, the higher or lower earner? The lower earner applies, because it's their unused allowance being transferred to the higher earner.
Does claiming affect my benefits or State Pension? Marriage Allowance only changes how Income Tax allowances are split. It does not affect your State Pension or National Insurance record. If you receive income-tested benefits, check the net effect, but for most couples there is none.
What if my income changes mid-year? Tell HMRC. If you stop qualifying, the allowance is usually adjusted from the next tax year, and you may need to repay any over-claim.
The bottom line
If one of you earns under £12,570 and the other is a basic-rate taxpayer, Marriage Allowance is close to free money, up to £252 a year, plus up to four years backdated. The claim takes a few minutes through HMRC, costs nothing, and renews automatically.
Check your numbers with the Marriage Allowance Calculator, confirm your tax bands with the Income Tax Calculator, and if either of you also files a tax return, the Self-Assessment Calculator will help you see the full picture.
Related calculators and guides
- Marriage Allowance Calculator, check eligibility and your saving
- Income Tax Calculator, confirm which tax band each partner is in
- HICBC Calculator, if either of you earns over £60,000
- Self-Assessment Calculator, if you complete a tax return
This article is for general guidance only and is not personalised tax advice. Tax rules are complex and your circumstances may differ. For advice tailored to your situation, speak to a qualified accountant or tax adviser. Figures are for the 2026/27 tax year and sourced from gov.uk.