Does getting married change my tax?

Q: Does getting married change my tax?

**Getting married or forming a civil partnership does not change your tax by itself. You may pay less if you claim Marriage Allowance or, if either of you was born before 6 April 1935, Married Couple's Allowance.** Your Personal Allowance stays your own. It does not depend on your partner's income. Marriage Allowance lets the lower earner transfer £1,260 of their Personal Allowance to their partner. It can apply if you earn less than your Personal Allowance (usually £12,570) and your partner pays tax at the basic rate, usually earning £12,571 to £50,270. Nothing changes automatically. The lower earner must apply, then it carries on each year until cancelled. You cannot get Marriage Allowance and Married Couple's Allowance at the same time. Tell HMRC if you change your name or address. This applies across the UK. If you live in Scotland, Income Tax bands are different, so check the Marriage Allowance guide for the Scottish rules.

For married couples and civil partners who want to know if marriage changes their tax.

Applies to: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland Last checked against official sources: 6 October 2026

Official figures may have changed. Check the source.

Getting married or forming a civil partnership does not change your tax by itself. You may pay less if you claim Marriage Allowance or, if either of you was born before 6 April 1935, Married Couple's Allowance.

Your Personal Allowance stays your own. It does not depend on your partner's income.
Marriage Allowance lets the lower earner transfer £1,260 of their Personal Allowance to their partner.
It can apply if you earn less than your Personal Allowance (usually £12,570) and your partner pays tax at the basic rate, usually earning £12,571 to £50,270.
Nothing changes automatically. The lower earner must apply, then it carries on each year until cancelled.
You cannot get Marriage Allowance and Married Couple's Allowance at the same time.
Tell HMRC if you change your name or address.

This applies across the UK. If you live in Scotland, Income Tax bands are different, so check the Marriage Allowance guide for the Scottish rules.

Key facts

Marriage alone does not change your tax
Marriage Allowance transfers £1,260
Lower earner must apply
Married Couple's Allowance if born before 6 April 1935

Your own tax stays your own

In the UK, each person is taxed on their own income. Getting married or forming a civil partnership does not merge your tax. You each keep your own Personal Allowance (usually £12,570 in 2026/27), the amount you can earn before paying Income Tax.

What marriage does is open up a few ways to save tax as a couple. None of them happen automatically.

Marriage Allowance: the main one

If one of you earns less than their Personal Allowance, they can transfer £1,260 of it to the other partner. This cuts the higher earner's tax by up to £252 a year (£1,260 x 20%).

Who	Condition
Lower earner	Income below their Personal Allowance (usually £12,570)
Higher earner (England, Wales, NI)	Pays basic rate tax, usually income £12,571 to £50,270
Higher earner (Scotland)	Income usually £12,571 to £43,662

Example (2026/27): Sam earns £9,000 and Alex earns £30,000. Sam transfers £1,260 of allowance to Alex. Alex now has £13,830 tax free instead of £12,570, so Alex pays £252 less tax for the year. Sam still pays no tax because £9,000 is below Sam's reduced allowance of £11,310.

The lower earner applies. Once set up, it carries on each year until one of you cancels it or your circumstances change. You can backdate a claim to 6 April 2022 (the 2022 to 2023 tax year) for any year you were eligible.

Married Couple's Allowance for older couples

If one of you was born before 6 April 1935, you may be able to claim Married Couple's Allowance instead. You must be married or in a civil partnership and living together. You cannot get this and Marriage Allowance at the same time. If you were both born on or after 6 April 1935, Marriage Allowance is the one to look at.

Gifts between you are free of Capital Gains Tax

You do not pay Capital Gains Tax when you give or sell assets (like shares or a second property) to your husband, wife or civil partner. This does not apply if you were separated and did not live together at all in that tax year. If your partner later sells the asset, their gain is worked out from when you first owned it.

Inheritance Tax

There is normally no Inheritance Tax if you leave everything above the £325,000 threshold to your spouse or civil partner. If your estate is worth less than your threshold, any unused part can be added to your partner's threshold when you die.

Things to tell HMRC

If you change your name after marrying, tell HMRC. You can do this online after signing in, or through the HMRC app.

Related guides

Where this comes from

Get it done

This takes you to the official service, which is free to use.

Apply for Marriage Allowance on GOV.UK

Common questions

Does my Personal Allowance change when I get married?

No. Your Personal Allowance is your own and does not change because you marry.

Can we claim if we live together but are not married?

No. You must be married or in a civil partnership to claim Marriage Allowance.

Can I backdate Marriage Allowance?

Yes, for earlier tax years you were eligible. The Marriage Allowance guide shows how far back you can go.

Official sources

1.Marriage Allowancewww.gov.uk/marriage-allowance
2.Married Couple's Allowancewww.gov.uk/married-couples-allowance
3.Income Tax rates and Personal Allowanceswww.gov.uk/income-tax-rates
4.Tell HMRC about a change to your personal detailswww.gov.uk/tell-hmrc-change-of-details

Checked against GOV.UK on 6 October 2026

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