Married Couple's Allowance UK: Worth £436 to £1,127 Per Year

What is Married Couple's Allowance?

Married Couple's Allowance (MCA) is a tax relief that reduces the income tax bill of one partner in a married couple or civil partnership where at least one partner was born before 6 April 1935. It is not a payment or refund. Instead, it reduces the amount of income tax you owe.

The allowance is given at a 10% rate, not your marginal tax rate. This means if your Married Couple's Allowance is £10,000, your tax bill is reduced by £1,000 (10% of £10,000), not by £2,000 or £4,000 as it would be if it worked like a personal allowance.

MCA was replaced for younger couples by Marriage Allowance in 2015, but it continues for couples who qualified under the old rules. An estimated 1.4 million couples in the UK still claim Married Couple's Allowance.

Who qualifies?

You can claim Married Couple's Allowance if all of the following are true:

• You are married or in a registered civil partnership
• You live together
• At least one of you was born before 6 April 1935 (aged 91 or older in the 2026-27 tax year)

There is no upper income limit. Higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers can claim it, unlike Marriage Allowance which is restricted to basic-rate taxpayers. However, the amount you get reduces if income exceeds £37,000 (see below).

If you are married but live apart permanently (separated but not divorced), you cannot claim. Temporary separations (for example, one partner in a care home, or working away from home) do not stop the claim.

How much is it worth?

In 2025-26, Married Couple's Allowance ranges from a minimum of £4,280 to a maximum of £11,080. Because the relief is given at 10%, the actual tax saving is:

• Minimum: £4,280 × 10% = £428
• Maximum: £11,080 × 10% = £1,108

Most guidance rounds these to £436 and £1,127 to account for rounding in HMRC's calculation method.

Your income level	Allowance amount	Tax saving
Under £37,000	£11,080 (maximum)	£1,108
£37,000 to £50,560	Reduces by £1 for every £2 over £37,000	£428 to £1,108
Over £50,560	£4,280 (minimum)	£428

Unlike the personal allowance, which disappears completely above £125,140, Married Couple's Allowance never falls below the minimum of £4,280, regardless of how high your income is.

How the allowance reduces with income

If the relevant partner's adjusted net income is above £37,000 in 2025-26, the allowance reduces by £1 for every £2 of income over that threshold. It stops reducing once it reaches the minimum of £4,280.

The calculation is:

1. Start with the maximum allowance: £11,080
2. Work out income over £37,000
3. Divide that excess by 2
4. Subtract the result from £11,080
5. If the answer is below £4,280, use £4,280 instead

Example: Your adjusted net income is £45,000. That is £8,000 over the £37,000 threshold. The reduction is £8,000 ÷ 2 = £4,000. Your allowance is £11,080 minus £4,000 = £7,080. Your tax saving is £7,080 × 10% = £708.

How to claim

If you file a Self Assessment tax return, you claim Married Couple's Allowance by ticking the relevant box in the "Allowances" section (SA101 or SA102 additional information pages). HMRC applies the relief when calculating your tax bill.

If you do not file a Self Assessment return (most PAYE-only workers), you claim by contacting HMRC's Income Tax helpline on 0300 200 3300 or by writing to your tax office. HMRC will adjust your tax code to give you the relief through PAYE if possible, or issue a refund if you have already overpaid.

You will need:

• Both partners' National Insurance numbers
• Your marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate (date of marriage/partnership)
• Details of both partners' income if claiming the maximum allowance

Unlike Marriage Allowance, there is currently no online claim form for Married Couple's Allowance. You must claim by phone, post, or through Self Assessment.

Which partner's income is used?

The partner whose income is used to calculate the allowance depends on when you married:

• Married before 5 December 2005: The husband's income is always used, regardless of who earns more
• Married or civil partnership on or after 5 December 2005: The higher earner's income is used

This reflects the older tax law where married women's income was automatically treated as their husband's income for tax purposes. Those rules ended in 1990, but MCA calculations still use the old married-before-2005 distinction.

Transferring the allowance between partners

By default, the allowance is given to the partner whose income determines the amount (see above). However, you can choose to:

• Split it 50/50 between both partners
• Transfer the entire allowance to the other partner

This can be useful if one partner does not have enough tax liability to use the full allowance. The transfer does not change the amount of the allowance or who qualifies, only which partner's tax bill is reduced.

To transfer or split the allowance, complete form 18-MC and send it to HMRC. The change applies from the start of the tax year in which you make the election.

Married Couple's Allowance vs Marriage Allowance

These two reliefs are commonly confused but they are completely different, and you cannot claim both:

	Married Couple's Allowance	Marriage Allowance
Who qualifies	At least one born before 6 April 1935	Both born on or after 6 April 1935, one under personal allowance
Tax saving	£436 to £1,127 (2025-26)	£252 (2026-27)
How it works	Reduces tax bill at 10% of allowance	Transfers 10% of personal allowance to spouse
Income limits	No upper limit, but reduces above £37,000	Receiving partner must be basic-rate taxpayer
How to claim	Self Assessment or phone/post to HMRC	Online at gov.uk/marriage-allowance

If you were born before 6 April 1935, you should claim Married Couple's Allowance instead of Marriage Allowance. It is worth significantly more for most couples.

What happens when one spouse dies?

If one partner dies, the surviving spouse continues to receive the full Married Couple's Allowance for the tax year in which the death occurred (6 April to 5 April). From the following tax year, the allowance stops.

The allowance does not transfer to a new marriage. If the surviving spouse remarries or enters a new civil partnership, they can claim Married Couple's Allowance again based on the new relationship, provided the new partner also meets the age requirement.

If you are the executor dealing with the deceased's estate, you should notify HMRC of the death. The final tax return for the deceased will include their share of Married Couple's Allowance up to the date of death.

Backdating claims

You can backdate a claim for Married Couple's Allowance for up to 4 previous tax years if you were eligible but did not claim. Contact HMRC by phone or in writing to request backdating. Each backdated year is calculated using that year's rates and income limits.

For example, if you claim in July 2026 and were eligible since 2022-23, you can recover the allowance for 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26, plus claim for the current 2026-27 year. Depending on your income in each of those years, a backdated claim could be worth £2,180 to £5,635 in total.

If you separate or divorce

Married Couple's Allowance stops from the tax year following permanent separation or divorce. You should notify HMRC when your circumstances change. If you reconcile and resume living together, you can reclaim the allowance.

Last reviewed: 27 July 2026