Estimate whether a simple Marriage Allowance transfer could reduce tax for a married couple or civil partners.
Use this Marriage Allowance calculator to model a simple transfer from a lower earner to a higher earner. It estimates the transfer amount, possible tax reduction and whether the inputs look like a straightforward case.
Enter both incomes. The saving is what the couple keeps between them, after the lower earner's own tax rises.
Looks like a simple Marriage Allowance estimate. Marriage Allowance is for married couples and civil partners. The lower earner gives up part of their Personal Allowance, so their own tax can rise; the figure that matters is what the couple saves together. A claim can usually be backdated four tax years.
Family-finance outputs are estimates only. They are not benefits, tax, legal, payroll, accounting or financial advice.
| Personal Allowance | £12,570 |
|---|---|
| Higher earner band limit used | £50,270 |
| Higher earner tax reduction | £252 |
| Lower earner tax increase | £0 |
| Tax/source year | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Region | England/Wales/Northern Ireland |
| Tax code basis | 1257L where the page uses PAYE defaults |
| Pension basis | No pension deduction unless this example says otherwise |
| Student loan basis | No student loan unless selected in this example |
| What is not decided here | PayBreakdown does not decide payroll correctness, lender approval, benefit entitlement or employer compliance, and does not give regulated financial, mortgage, debt, tax, payroll or legal advice. |
|---|
The figures on this page are worked from marriage allowance, using the values below. Open the calculator if your example salary differs.
Marriage Allowance moves part of the Personal Allowance of one partner to the other. It is worth having only where the lower earner does not need the whole allowance and the higher earner pays basic rate. The third row shows a pair where the transfer is not available, which is as useful to see as the two where it is.
| Lower earner | Higher earner | Transfer available | Higher earner tax reduction | Lower earner tax increase | Tax saved for the couple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £10,000 | £40,000 | Yes | £252 | £0 | £252 |
| £12,000 | £35,000 | Yes | £252 | £138 | £114 |
| £15,000 | £40,000 | No | £0 | £0 | £0 |
The calculator checks a basic income pattern: one partner with unused Personal Allowance and the other inside the usual basic-rate range. In Scotland the test is not the basic rate alone, because Scotland divides the same span of income into more bands: the partner receiving the allowance can be on the starter, basic or intermediate rate and still qualify.
The examples compare lower-earner and higher-earner income pairs where unused Personal Allowance, basic-rate status and Scotland wording can change how to read the estimate.
This estimate is worked out on £35,000 annual gross. Change any of those and the take-home figure moves; pension method and student loan plan usually move it most. A payslip can differ from any calculator because payroll works pay period by pay period, so a tax-code change, a bonus, arrears or a refund can land in one month and not the next. See how each deduction is worked out.
Move from the allowance estimate into household income, salary and budget planning.
The Personal Allowance rules the transfer leans on, and the household tools beside it.
It estimates the transferable allowance, possible tax reduction and a simple likely or unlikely status based on the lower and higher earner incomes entered.
It is generally for married couples or civil partners where one partner has unused Personal Allowance and the other is a basic-rate taxpayer.
The allowance is the same, but the band test is not. A Scottish taxpayer receiving it can be on the starter, basic or intermediate rate, so the calculator applies a source-backed Scottish band limit rather than the rest-of-UK basic-rate limit. The result is still a simple estimate.
No. It estimates a possible tax reduction only. It does not submit a claim, decide HMRC eligibility, or model every backdating and income edge case.
Last updated 2026-08-27. Checked by Sean Elsmore. Rates last checked against GOV.UK on 2026-08-07. Estimates are for planning and should be checked against official records where the decision matters.