Marriage tax threshold

vulcanthecat

Hello.  My wife applied for the marriage allowance about three years ago and was then a non tax payer, so I gained the extra allowance.  However over the last three years owing to the freeze on the tax threshold she has now crept into the tax threshold and as such now has to pay a small amount of tax.  Is it still OK for us to claim the allowance given she is no NOT  a non tax payer.  She was a non tax payer when we first applied.  Worried that I might get to pay back money!!!  Any advise gratefully accepted.

sheramber

No problem

I paid £80 in tax but my husband  gained the full marriage allowance so , as a couple, we were still better off.

The only restriction is that the person getting the allowance is not a higher rate taxpayer. 

eskbanker

Who can apply

You can benefit from Marriage Allowance if all the following apply:

• you’re married or in a civil partnership
• you do not pay Income Tax or your income is below your Personal Allowance (usually £12,570)
• your partner pays Income Tax at the basic rate, which usually means their income is between £12,571 and £50,270 before they receive Marriage Allowance

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance

If your circumstances change

You must cancel Marriage Allowance if any of the following apply:

• your relationship ends - because you’ve divorced, ended (‘dissolved’) your civil partnership or legally separated
• your income changes and you’re no longer eligible
• you no longer want to claim

If your income changes and you’re not sure if you should still claim, call HMRC Marriage Allowance enquiries.

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance/if-your-circumstances-change

As per the middle option in each list, she needs to cancel, either online or by phone....

Dazed_and_C0nfused

eskbanker said:

Who can apply

You can benefit from Marriage Allowance if all the following apply:

• you’re married or in a civil partnership
• you do not pay Income Tax or your income is below your Personal Allowance (usually £12,570)
• your partner pays Income Tax at the basic rate, which usually means their income is between £12,571 and £50,270 before they receive Marriage Allowance

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance

If your circumstances change

You must cancel Marriage Allowance if any of the following apply:

• your relationship ends - because you’ve divorced, ended (‘dissolved’) your civil partnership or legally separated
• your income changes and you’re no longer eligible
• you no longer want to claim

If your income changes and you’re not sure if you should still claim, call HMRC Marriage Allowance enquiries.

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance/if-your-circumstances-change

As per the middle option in each list, she needs to cancel, either online or by phone....

Providing neither party is liable to higher rate tax (or has dividend income taxed at 0% which have been taxed at higher rate if it weren't for the dividend nil rate band) then they are still eligible.

As usual gov.uk dumbs things down a bit too much.

Nomunnofun1

sheramber said:

No problem

I paid £80 in tax but my husband  gained the full marriage allowance so , as a couple, we were still better off.

The only restriction is that the person getting the allowance is not a higher rate taxpayer. 

Indeed! Just this afternoon I have ‘asked’ my wife to drop her claim for 2025/26 as she will pay more than £260 in tax. 

She can now pay for the coffees!

sheramber

eskbanker said:

Who can apply

You can benefit from Marriage Allowance if all the following apply:

• you’re married or in a civil partnership
• you do not pay Income Tax or your income is below your Personal Allowance (usually £12,570)
• your partner pays Income Tax at the basic rate, which usually means their income is between £12,571 and £50,270 before they receive Marriage Allowance

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance

If your circumstances change

You must cancel Marriage Allowance if any of the following apply:

• your relationship ends - because you’ve divorced, ended (‘dissolved’) your civil partnership or legally separated
• your income changes and you’re no longer eligible
• you no longer want to claim

If your income changes and you’re not sure if you should still claim, call HMRC Marriage Allowance enquiries.

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance/if-your-circumstances-change

As per the middle option in each list, she needs to cancel, either online or by phone....

What about the example in your link

Example

Your income is £11,500 and your Personal Allowance is £12,570, so you do not pay tax.

Your partner’s income is £20,000 and their Personal Allowance is £12,570, so they pay tax on £7,430 (their ‘taxable income’). This means as a couple you are paying Income Tax on £7,430.

When you claim Marriage Allowance you transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your partner. Your Personal Allowance becomes £11,310 and your partner gets a ‘tax credit’ on £1,260 of their taxable income.

This means you will now pay tax on £190, but your partner will only pay tax on £6,170. As a couple you benefit, as you are only paying Income Tax on £6,360 rather than £7,430, which saves you £214 in tax.

sheramber

HMRC tax manual. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/paye-manual/paye100060

Eligibility criteria

To qualify for the transfer:

• you must be married or in a civil partnership when the transferor makes the application to transfer the allowance
• your spouse/civil partner is not for the tax year, liable to tax at a rate other than the basic rate, the dividend ordinary rate or the starting rate for savings
• neither customer can already have a live Marriage Allowance application on their account at the time of the application
• neither customer can be in receipt of Married Couple’s Allowance (MCA)k mo

eskbanker

Fair enough, looks like they've been a bit slack with the wording when they say 'you can benefit from [it if below PA]' beneath the heading 'who can apply', if that isn't actually about eligibility as such but financial advantage!

Cobbler_tone

By a basic tax payer I assume it disregards earnings? i.e. someone earning £80k a year and sacrificing £30k into a pension could claim it? If they paid £1 into the 40% bracket are they ineligible or is it a sliding scale? I’ve never used it but might in the summer if I can.

Nomunnofun1

Cobbler_tone said:

By a basic tax payer I assume it disregards earnings? i.e. someone earning £80k a year and sacrificing £30k into a pension could claim it? If they paid £1 into the 40% bracket are they ineligible or is it a sliding scale? I’ve never used it but might in the summer if I can.

If either has £1 liable at ‘at a rate other than the basic rate’ you are ineligible to claim. 

SacredStephan

Cobbler_tone said:

By a basic tax payer I assume it disregards earnings? i.e. someone earning £80k a year and sacrificing £30k into a pension could claim it?
Yes
If they paid £1 into the 40% bracket are they ineligible?
Yes

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/26/section/11