Marriage and civil partnerships

Effect on credits, reliefs and thresholds

When you get married or enter a civil partnership, it can change your reliefs, credits and thresholds. How you choose to be assessed will also have an effect.

Home Carer Tax Credit

You can claim the Home Carer Tax Credit if you meet the conditions and are jointly, or separately, assessed.

Single Persons Child Carer Credit

You might be claiming Single Persons Child Carer Credit (SPCCC). If you marry on, or after, 2 January in a year that you are claiming, it will not be withdrawn. You will continue to claim SPCCC for the remainder of that year.

The SPCCC is then withdrawn for future years. It is not available to individuals who are married or in a civil partnership.

Health expenses

You can claim for health expenses paid by you or your spouse or civil partner.

Age Tax Credit

If you are jointly assessed or separately assessed, you can both claim Age Tax Credit if one of you is 65 or older. You are both entitled to the credit even though only one person is 65 or older.

If you are assessed under separate treatment, both of you must be 65 to claim the full Age Tax Credit available to couples.

Exemption and marginal relief

If you or your partner are 65 or over and your total income is less than the exemption limit, you will not pay any Income Tax. If your income goes slightly above the exemption limit, you may claim marginal relief. This is not possible if you are taxed under separate treatment.

Universal Social Charge (USC)

The USC thresholds apply to you and your spouse or civil partner individually. You cannot combine or transfer thresholds if one person is below a threshold and the other is above them.

Next: Transferring assets between spouses or civil partners