Marriage Allowance
Calculator 2026/27
Check if you and your husband, wife or civil partner can claim Marriage Allowance, and how much it could save you each year.
How Marriage Allowance works
Marriage Allowance lets the lower earner in a married couple or civil partnership pass £1,260 of their Personal Allowance to the other person. This cuts the higher earner's tax by up to £252 a year (20% of £1,260). Unmarried couples cannot claim.
Who can claim
- You are married or in a civil partnership.
- The lower earner has income below the Personal Allowance, usually £12,570.
- The higher earner pays tax at the basic rate. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland that usually means income from £12,571 to £50,270. In Scotland it means the starter, basic or intermediate rate, usually income from £12,571 to £43,662.
When the lower earner pays some tax
After the transfer, the lower earner's own tax-free allowance falls to £11,310. If their income is more than £11,310, they pay tax on the part above it (at 20%, or 19% at the Scottish starter rate). The calculator takes this off the saving, so you see what you gain as a couple. If the higher earner pays less than £252 in tax, the cut in their tax is limited to what they pay.
Tax codes M and N
Once you claim, HMRC changes both your tax codes. The person receiving the allowance gets a code ending in M. The person transferring it gets a code ending in N. If you see these letters on a payslip, Marriage Allowance is the reason.
Backdating a claim
If you were eligible in earlier years, you can backdate your claim for up to 4 previous tax years. Together these years can be worth more than a single year's saving. The lower earner makes the claim on GOV.UK.
Related calculators
To see the full tax bill for either of you, use the income tax calculator, or the take home pay calculator for pay after tax and National Insurance. If your tax code has changed, the tax code checker explains what it means. For a short definition, see Marriage Allowance in our glossary.
How this is worked out
We find the lower earner. If their income is below £12,570 and the higher earner pays basic rate (or starter, basic or intermediate rate in Scotland), we work out how much the higher earner's tax falls: 20% of £1,260, up to the tax they pay. We then take off any extra tax the lower earner pays on income above £11,310.
What this calculator assumes
- Tax year 2026/27, with both of you on England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, or both on Scottish rates if you choose Scotland. If you tick that your partner pays tax in a different part of the UK, each of you is taxed at the rates for where you pay tax: the higher earner's rates decide whether you can claim, and the lower earner's rates decide any extra tax they pay.
- You are married or in a civil partnership, and the incomes you enter are each person's total taxable income before tax.
- Each of you has the standard Personal Allowance of £12,570 and no other allowances or reliefs.
- Only the current tax year is worked out, not backdated years. Figures are rounded to the nearest penny.
Sources
- Marriage Allowance (GOV.UK)
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
- Scottish Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- What your tax code means (GOV.UK)
Rates checked against GOV.UK on 12 October 2026. Read how we calculate or tell us about a mistake.
Frequently asked questions
Married couples and civil partners where the lower earner has income below the Personal Allowance (usually £12,570) and the higher earner pays basic rate tax. That usually means income from £12,571 to £50,270, or £12,571 to £43,662 in Scotland (starter, basic or intermediate rate).
Up to £252 a year, which is 20% of the £1,260 that is transferred. The saving is smaller if the lower earner earns more than £11,310, because they then pay some tax themselves, or if the higher earner pays less than £252 in tax.
Yes. If you were eligible, you can backdate your claim for up to 4 previous tax years as well as the current one.
A tax code ending in M means you have received Marriage Allowance from your partner. A code ending in N means you have transferred part of your Personal Allowance to them.
No. You must be married or in a civil partnership. Couples who live together without being married or in a civil partnership cannot claim.
Yes. The higher earner must pay the starter, basic or intermediate rate, which usually means income from £12,571 to £43,662. Their tax still falls by up to £252.