Yes. A pensioner who is married or in a civil partnership can transfer part of their tax-free Personal Allowance to their spouse through a scheme called Marriage Allowance, cutting the couple’s combined tax bill by up to £252 a year. The transfer is a fixed £1,260, and it only works when one partner earns below the £12,570 Personal Allowance and the other is a basic-rate taxpayer. For pensioners, the size of the actual saving turns on how close the lower earner’s income sits to that £12,570 line.
Who Can Make the Transfer
You must be legally married or in a civil partnership. Unmarried couples living together do not qualify, regardless of income.
The partner giving up the allowance needs total income below £12,570 for the tax year. The partner receiving it needs to be a basic-rate taxpayer, with taxable income between £12,571 and £50,270.1GOV.UK. Income Tax Rates and Personal Allowances If the recipient’s income crosses into the higher (40%) or additional (45%) rate, the couple cannot use Marriage Allowance.2GOV.UK. Income Tax: Marriage Allowance Claims on Behalf of Deceased Partners Scottish taxpayers on the starter, basic, or intermediate rate still qualify as the recipient; only those on the higher, advanced, or top Scottish rates are excluded.
Why the State Pension Figure Changes the Maths
The State Pension is taxable income, even though tax is not deducted from it at source. For 2026/27, the full new State Pension is £241.30 a week, which comes to roughly £12,548 a year.3GOV.UK. Benefit and Pension Rates 2026 to 2027 That sits just below the £12,570 Personal Allowance, so a pensioner whose only income is the full new State Pension technically qualifies to transfer.
The practical result is smaller than the headline. When you transfer £1,260, your own allowance drops to £11,310. If you receive around £12,548 in State Pension, you now have roughly £1,238 of taxable income and owe about £248 in tax. Your spouse saves £252. The couple’s net gain is only around £4.
The full £252 saving arrives when the transferor’s income is at or below £11,310, because there is no taxable income left even after handing over part of the allowance. The pensioners who benefit most are those on less than the full new State Pension, those on the old basic State Pension, or those whose only income is a modest occupational pension. Add a private pension, savings interest, or rental income that pushes total income above £12,570, and you cannot be the transferor at all, though your spouse may still be able to transfer to you if their income is lower.
How Much You Save
The transfer amount is fixed at £1,260, which is 10% of the standard Personal Allowance. You cannot choose a different figure. The recipient does not add £1,260 to their own allowance; instead, HMRC applies a 20% tax credit worth up to £252 against their tax bill.4GOV.UK. Marriage Allowance
£252 is a ceiling, not a guarantee. If the recipient’s tax bill for the year is less than £252, the credit reduces what they owe to zero and any unused portion is lost. The Personal Allowance and the £1,260 transfer figure have been frozen since 2021 and remain the same for 2026/27.5House of Commons Library. Income Tax Allowances for Married Couples In Scotland, even where the recipient pays the 21% intermediate rate on part of their income, the credit is still calculated at 20%.
Claiming for Earlier Years
If you were eligible in past years but never applied, you can backdate a claim by up to four tax years.6Legislation.gov.uk. Income Tax Act 2007 – Section 55C HMRC works out the reduction for each year and pays the refund directly.7GOV.UK. Marriage Allowance Transfer Claim Form At current rates, a full four-year backdate can return just over £1,000, though the amount depends on the rates and allowances that applied in each earlier year. HMRC assesses each year separately, so it is worth applying even if you were only eligible for some of them.
If your spouse or civil partner has died, you can still claim for the years you were both eligible, and the same four-year backdating window applies.2GOV.UK. Income Tax: Marriage Allowance Claims on Behalf of Deceased Partners Claims after a bereavement go through the Income Tax helpline rather than the online service.8GOV.UK. Apply for Marriage Allowance by Post
How to Apply
The lower earner is the one who applies, not the recipient. You will need both partners’ National Insurance numbers.9GOV.UK. Apply for Marriage Allowance Online The online service on GOV.UK is the quickest route and verifies your identity from details HMRC already holds, such as a P60, a recent pension statement, or a passport. A postal form is available if you prefer.8GOV.UK. Apply for Marriage Allowance by Post
Once processed, the recipient’s tax code gains an “M” suffix and the transferor’s gains an “N”.10HM Revenue & Customs. PAYE Manual – PAYE11075 Confirmation usually arrives within two to five weeks, and the adjustment then flows through pension payments and any PAYE income automatically. The claim also renews itself each tax year until you cancel, so no yearly reapplication is needed.4GOV.UK. Marriage Allowance
When You Need to Cancel
Automatic renewal is convenient but can catch pensioners out. Starting a new private pension, drawing down a pot, or taking part-time work can push income above £12,570 while the transfer keeps running. If that happens, you need to cancel.
The person who originally made the claim has to do the cancelling, either through the online Marriage Allowance service or by phoning HMRC on 0300 200 3300.11GOV.UK. Marriage Allowance – If Your Circumstances Change If you file a Self Assessment return, leaving the Marriage Allowance section blank does not cancel anything; the separate cancellation route is the only one that works.
When the reason is an income change, the allowance stays in place until 5 April, so one of you may underpay tax for that year. HMRC recovers the shortfall later through an adjusted tax code. Where the reason is divorce, dissolution, or legal separation, the cancellation can be backdated to 6 April, the start of the tax year.11GOV.UK. Marriage Allowance – If Your Circumstances Change
If Either of You Was Born Before 6 April 1935
A separate, older relief called Married Couple’s Allowance is available where at least one spouse or civil partner was born before 6 April 1935. It reduces the couple’s tax bill by roughly £400 to £1,100 a year depending on income, and is usually more generous than Marriage Allowance. You cannot claim both. HMRC provides a calculator for the exact figure. Anyone born on or after 6 April 1935 uses Marriage Allowance instead.12GOV.UK. Married Couple’s Allowance