At the height of the wedding season, HMRC is reminding married couples and people in civil partnerships to put extra cash at the top of their gift list and sign up for Marriage Allowance.
Marriage Allowance allows married couples or people in civil partnerships, including those who have been together for many years, to share their personal tax allowances if one partner earns below the Personal Allowance threshold of £12,570, and the other is a basic rate taxpayer.
Eligible couples can transfer 10% of their tax-free allowance to their partner, which is £1,260 in the 2022 to 2023 tax year. This means couples can reduce the tax they pay by up to £252 a year. They can apply any time – if eligible, can backdate their claims for up to 4 previous tax years to receive a payment of up to £1,242.
Marriage Allowance is free to apply for, and customers are reminded to claim directly via HMRC’s online portal to ensure they receive 100% of the tax relief they are eligible for.