For the 2026/27 UK tax year, a married couple wants to use Marriage Allowance. One partner has income of £11,000 (below the standard Personal Allowance) and the other has income of £45,000 (a basic rate taxpayer). Under HMRC's Marriage Allowance rules, which statement is correct?
- Marriage Allowance lets the lower-earning partner transfer £3,250 of unused allowance, cutting the higher-earning partner's tax bill by up to £650
- Marriage Allowance lets the lower-earning partner transfer £1,260 of Personal Allowance to the higher-earning partner, cutting that partner's tax bill by up to £252 for the year
- Marriage Allowance is unavailable here because the receiving partner earns above the basic rate threshold
- Marriage Allowance can only be claimed if both partners have income below the standard Personal Allowance
Why B? And why not the others?
Correct answer: B. Marriage Allowance lets the lower-earning partner transfer £1,260 of Personal Allowance to the higher-earning partner, cutting that partner's tax bill by up to £252 for the year
Marriage Allowance for 2026/27 lets a partner who does not use all of their Personal Allowance transfer a fixed £1,260 of it to a spouse or civil partner, which reduces the recipient's tax bill by up to £252 in the year (£1,260 taxed at the 20% basic rate they would otherwise have paid on it) — the statement describing exactly this £1,260 transfer and £252 saving is correct. The option citing a £3,250 transfer and £650 saving mixes up the fixed Marriage Allowance transfer amount with the unrelated Blind Person's Allowance figure and an incorrect resulting saving. The option claiming the allowance is unavailable is wrong because the recipient partner's £45,000 income falls squarely within the basic rate band (£12,571 to £50,270), which is exactly the band Marriage Allowance is designed to benefit; it would only be barred if the recipient were a higher or additional rate taxpayer. The option requiring both partners to have income below the Personal Allowance misstates the rule: only the transferring partner needs unused allowance, while the receiving partner must be a basic rate taxpayer, not also below the Personal Allowance.
Source: GOV.UK: Marriage Allowance — how it works and eligibility