Registration opens for Married Couples allowance

The Government has fulfilled its pledge to recognise marriage in the tax system by opening registration for its Married Couples allowance on 20 February. Full story:

Summary

The  new Married Couples allowance (not to be confused with the Married Couples allowance for those born before 6/4/1935) essentially allows for a spouse who is earning less than £10,600, so is not paying any tax, to transfer up to £1,060 of their remaining personal allowance to their partner. The big catch is, however, that the partner it is being transferred to must be a basic rate tax payer i.e. earning less than £41,865 (being the £31,865 basic rate limit plus their own personal allowance of £10,000).