How do I claim the Marriage Allowance backdated for previous years?

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Backdating a Marriage Allowance claim can produce a useful lump sum for couples who were eligible in previous years but never got around to claiming. **How far back you can go** HMRC allows backdated claims for up to four tax years before the current one, so a claim made during the 2026/27 tax year could potentially cover 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26, as well as the current year -- provided the eligibility conditions were met in each specific year claimed. **Checking eligibility for each year** Eligibility must be assessed year by year, since income levels can change -- if one partner's income rose above the Personal Allowance or the other became a higher-rate taxpayer in a particular year, that year would not qualify even if earlier or later years did. **How much each backdated year is worth** The value varies slightly by year since the transferable amount and Personal Allowance have changed over time -- broadly, each qualifying year is worth up to around £250, so four backdated years plus the current year could be worth over £1,000 in total for a couple who has been eligible throughout. **How the claim is made** The lower-earning partner (not the person who will benefit from the extra allowance) submits a single application via gov.uk, specifying which years to claim for -- HMRC processes the current and future years by adjusting the recipient's tax code, while backdated years are typically paid as a one-off cheque or bank payment since they cannot be applied to prior tax codes retrospectively. **Worked example** A couple has been eligible for the Marriage Allowance for the past three tax years but never claimed. They apply now, backdating to all three previous years plus claiming for the current year -- receiving a lump sum covering the three backdated years (each worth up to around £250, so roughly £750 combined) plus an ongoing adjustment to the current year's tax code worth £252. **What if a partner has died** You can still claim Marriage Allowance if your spouse or civil partner has since died, as long as you were eligible during the years being claimed -- the surviving partner can make the claim covering the eligible years before the death. **Practical tip** Before applying, check each of the past four years' income for both partners against the eligibility rules (income under £12,570 for the transferring partner, basic-rate taxpayer status for the receiving partner) -- if your circumstances fluctuated, some years may qualify while others do not, and it is worth checking all four years individually rather than assuming a blanket eligibility.

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• What is the Marriage Allowance and who can claim it?