Marriage Allowance (previously referred to as Transferable Allowances for Married Couples and Civil Partners) is being introduced from April 2015.

Registering your interest for marriage allowance is simple and quick – and it is all done at www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance

There’s guidance for couples to check their eligibility for the new allowance, and registration apparently takes only three minutes. From April those who have registered their interest will be invited to be among the first to apply for the allowance using the new online service. Those who choose not to register early will not lose out; they will be able to make an application later in 2015-16 and still receive the full annual allowance.

For more details, see the announcement ‘Registration opens for new married couples tax break’ at

https://www.gov.uk/government/announcements?departments%5B%5D=hm-revenue-customs

Where neither spouse is liable to income tax above the basic rate, individuals will be able to transfer part of their tax free personal allowance to their spouse or civil partner.

For the 2015 – 2016 tax year £1,060 will be transferable, representing a saving of up to £212 per year for eligible couples.

Both the transferor and recipient’s tax codes will be amended using two new code suffixes:

• M will be used for the spouse/civil partner receiving the transferred allowance

• N will be used for the spouse/civil partner transferring the allowance.