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Find out more'I used the marriage allowance to reduce my husband's tax bill – now mine has gone up'
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Joanne has 20 years experience working in a bank and is a qualified mortgage adviser as well as financial adviser. She helps with pension, mortgage, tax and general banking/savings queries.
Using the marriage allowance, I gave my husband 10% of my personal allowance a few years ago.
This year, my state pension exceeded my reduced personal allowance. How will I pay the tax owed?
Will I need to do a self-assessment tax return? And can I reduce the proportion of my personal allowance I’m giving to my husband?
A Which? Money member
'It's all or nothing when it comes to the marriage allowance'
Joanne Padilla, Which? money expert, says…
The marriage allowance lets you transfer £1,260 of your personal allowance tax-free to your husband, wife or civil partner, if you earn less than £12,570 a year and they are a basic-rate taxpayer.
Unfortunately, the income tax personal allowance has been frozen since April 2021 and will remain at that level until at least April 2031, even as the state pension increases each year in line with the triple lock.
As your only income is the state pension, you don’t need to register for self-assessment. HMRC will send a Simple Assessment tax bill with what you owe.
You could still be paying less tax overall as a couple
Unfortunately, when using the marriage allowance, you can’t transfer a smaller portion of your personal allowance; it’s £1,260 or nothing.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the marriage allowance, but you could discuss how you split costs with your husband.
Even though you are now paying tax yourself, you could still be paying less tax overall as a couple.
- Find out more: Income tax calculator
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