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

Making a Claim

For 2019/20 the Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,250 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 £250 in the tax year (6 April to 5 April the following year).

To claim this allowance you need to meet all the following criteria. Please note that this is only available if you are a basic rate tax payer. 

• 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 £12,501 and £50,000
  • Scotland £12,501 and £43,430
• You don’t earn anything or your income is under £12,500.

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: You will need to apply for Marriage Allowance online before making this claim on the return.

Note: If your circumstances change, be sure to cancel the marriage allowance transfer with HMRC.

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.

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