Claiming Marriage Allowance

Making a Claim

What to do if you cannot claim

When trying to check my status or eligibility, a response of invalid or taxpayer not found is given

Claiming as a non-resident

Making a Claim

For 2023/24 the Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,260 of your personal allowance to your spouse or civil partner, in order to reduce the amount of tax they pay. This could reduce their tax by up to £252 in the tax year (6 April to 5 April the following year).

To transfer this allowance to your spouse or civil partner you need to meet all the following criteria. 

• You were married to, or in a civil partnership with, the same person for all or part of the tax year.
• You were both born on or after 6 April 1935.
• Your spouse or civil partner’s income is between
  • England £12,571 and £50,270 *
  • Scotland £12,571 and £43,662 *

* therefore the allowance can only be claimed by a basic rate taxpayer.

Please also note that the transfer will only be valid if you continue to remain in the basic rate band after the transfer; if the transfer would take you into the higher rate tax bands, the marriage allowance transfer will be invalid and the software will not reflect the transfer on the SA302 tax summary.

You can still apply for Marriage Allowance if you or your partner:

• are currently receiving a pension
• live abroad (as long as you get a personal allowance).

Note: If your circumstances change, be sure to cancel the marriage allowance transfer with HMRC. Once you have initiated claiming marriage allowance transfer on the return or via HMRC online, it will automatically continue regardless of your entries on subsequent returns, until you notify HMRC to cancel.

How to complete the Marriage allowance section on the Tax Return

SimpleStep Mode

Tax Reliefs and allowances > Marriage allowance transfer

HMRC Forms Mode

SA100 Core Return > Page 5

Note: If, after completing the Marriage Allowance section on the tax return, the calculations don't take effect on the SA302 summary, you need to check if the details you have entered are correct on the personal details section of the tax return.

If you or your partner were born before 6 April 1935, you might benefit more as a couple by applying for Married Couple's Allowance instead.

What to do if you cannot claim

When checking the eligibility within the software, if it states that the taxpayer is not eligible it may be down to a few things – for example, the taxpayer may not be eligible to make a claim or HMRC may hold incorrect details (such as a higher income than they actually have).

If you think you should be able to make this claim but cannot, contact HMRC and check that your income details are correct before trying again.

When trying to check my status or eligibility, a response of invalid or taxpayer not found is given

When trying to check the status or check for eligibility within the software, you may receive a response of 'invalid details' or 'taxpayer not found'. This usually means some of the personal details entered do not match HMRC's systems.

We suggest that you double-check the details entered first and then, if you still receive this error, contact HMRC to make sure they hold the correct details.

Claiming as a non-resident

Whilst the marriage allowance transfer can be claimed by a non-resident if you are are domiciled and have previously resided in the UK, HMRC do not provide for the automatic adjustment of marriage allowance transfer on a non-resident status tax return. The transfer has to be claimed separately via the web page Apply for Marriage Allowance.

If you require any further information, please see the link for HMRC's webpage for Marriage Allowance. Previous years rates: