From 6 April 2015, more than four million married couples and 15,000 civil partnerships will be eligible for the tax break.
The Allowance means a spouse or civil partner who doesn’t pay tax, or doesn’t pay tax above the basic rate of income tax, can transfer up to £1,060 of their personal tax-free allowance to a spouse or civil partner – as long as the recipient of the transfer doesn’t pay more than the basic rate of income tax.
The new Marriage Allowance means saving £212 on your tax bill.
From April, HMRC will contact those who have already registered for the Marriage Allowance to apply. People can register at any point in the tax year and still receive the full benefit of the allowance.
Applying online is simple. One person in a couple will apply online to transfer the allowance to their spouse or civil partner, and HMRC will tell the recipient about the change to their Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax code.
This allowance was announced in 2013 and details were published in the Budget 2014.