The Marriage Tax Allowance

Published: 22/04/2019

Written by Curwens Solicitors

For those who are married or in a civil partnership, it might be possible to claim up to £1,150 via a tax break called Marriage Tax Allowance (MTA). According to MoneySavingExpert.com up to 700,000 people are not claiming this allowance.

It is worth noting that applicants might still be eligible to make claims even if their partner has sadly passed away.

So, what is MTA?

MTA is a scheme whereby couples can transfer between them a proportion of their tax free personal allowance, which is the amount of money you can earn each year before you are taxed.

How does this work?

One party transfers up to £1,250 of their allowance to the other, which represents 10% of their overall allowance.

What is the criteria for applying?

Generally speaking the criteria is as follows:

This scheme is only available for married couples and those in civil partnerships. It is not available presently for cohabiting couples.
One party must be a non-tax payer, i.e. they must have earned less than £12,500 between 6 April 2019 and 5 April 2020.
- The other party must be a basic rate (20%) tax payer. This scheme is not available to higher rate tax payers. Therefore the parties need to earn under £50,000 per annum to qualify.
- Both parties must have been born on or after 6 April 1935.
- Parties can only claim for the years in which they are eligible.
- Once accepted this will be repeated automatically, further applications will not have to be made every year.

So how much will I actually receive?

The MTA for tax year 19/20 is £250 but you can backdate your claim by up to an additional 4 years. Therefore if you are a successful claimant now, this year’s allowance plus the previous 4 years would equate to £1,150.

So how do I apply?

Applications are made directly to HMRC and the non-tax payer must be the one to apply or the application may be rejected.

Please note that we are not authorised to give financial or tax advice on this subject. Should applicants have any questions these should be directed to HMRC directly or to a specialist tax advisor.

Date: 17 April 2019

Please note that our briefings are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute legal advice.

testimonials

Bradley of Curwens is the most highly efficient, sharp and highly skilled conveyancer I have ever used. My sale went through quickly and effortlessly with no stress at all. Conveyancing at its best. Hurrah and Thank you.

Katie from North London

Kaajal at Curwens was terrific - really friendly and unintimidating, patient in explaining the legal-speak of the severance agreement I was being asked to sign, while also being extremely efficient in processing it all! I would unreservedly recommend Kaajal and Curwens to anybody looking for friendly and painless help with any potentially daunting legal process.

Mike from Palmers Green

We had a very good experience on our house sale with Maryam and Christina. They were knowledgeable, courteous and understanding throughout. I would definitely recommend them and have no hesitation using Curwens again for any legal representation!!

The Thompsons from Finchley

I would highly recommend Curwens. They handled the probate on my late father’s estate in a highly professional manner and explained the whole process clearly. The staff are friendly and kind and dealt with any issues I had promptly. Thank you. Much appreciated.

John from Harlow

I would like to thank the Employment team, and especially Kaajal for assisting me during my redundancy. She remained calm, when I was upset and shocked. The whole process was dealt with within one week, meaning I could go on to find further employment.

Pritti from Surrey

Our purchase was sabotaged by XXXXXXXXXX, and our mortgage offer had expired. Luckily, our lender gave us a one week extension of the mortgage offer. Curwens took over, and magic happened. We completed the purchase on time. Best Service ever!

William from London

I would like to thank you Amanda for all your support during this process. I felt very pleased you were my solicitor, you gave me confidence and reassurance, I felt in very safe hands.

Anonymous

You have helped us on a fair few issues now. On every occasion you have made us feel like we were your only client at the time… we couldn’t have got through our HR situations without your guidance.

HR Director, Milbridge Group PLC

I just wanted to say thank you for all of your help with getting our office lease done. Bradley, Sandra and Sarah were so responsive and it was a pleasure working with you.

Clinton Gomer, Energy House Digital

‹ ›

GET IN TOUCH

Any data that you submit using this web form will be held by our firm as Data Controller and will be held securely for 12 months before being securely and confidentially destroyed.
Find out more Your data will not be disclosed to any third parties without your consent or as otherwise allowed by the relevant Data Protection legislation and will only be used for responding to your query (or purposes associated with that purpose).

You have the right to be informed about what data we hold about you along with other rights set out in the legislation. Further information about your rights under the data protection legislation can be found at www.ico.org.uk

Full details can be found here

(*)

Please let us know your name.

(*)

Please enter a valid phone number

(*)

Error, invalid email address or address already exists in a contact request.

Invalid Input

(*)

Please select an office

(*)

Please let us know your message.

CURWENS NEWS

Curwens team will be walking the river route 10k in support of the provision of legal services to those who cannot afford it - Tuesday 18th June 2024 12/06/2024 Read more

Employment Law Changes in the UK Budget 2024: What You Need to Know 01/11/2024 Read more

Artificial Intelligence: the beginning of the end of employment lawyers or the rise of a new world? 16/04/2024 Read more

View all latest news

testimonials

Katie from North London

Mike from Palmers Green

The Thompsons from Finchley

John from Harlow

Pritti from Surrey

William from London

I would like to thank you Amanda for all your support during this process. I felt very pleased you were my solicitor, you gave me confidence and reassurance, I felt in very safe hands.

Anonymous

HR Director, Milbridge Group PLC

I just wanted to say thank you for all of your help with getting our office lease done. Bradley, Sandra and Sarah were so responsive and it was a pleasure working with you.

Clinton Gomer, Energy House Digital

‹ ›

GET IN TOUCH

(*)

Please let us know your name.

(*)

Please enter a valid phone number

(*)

Error, invalid email address or address already exists in a contact request.

Invalid Input

(*)

Please select an office

(*)

Please let us know your message.

Blogs