Income Tax Act 2007 section 47

Election by individual to transfer relief under section 45 or 46

Section 47 allows an individual to elect to receive a transfer of part of the married couple's allowance or civil partner's allowance that would otherwise go entirely to their spouse or civil partner.

• An individual can elect to receive a tax reduction equal to 10% of half the minimum amount, provided their spouse or civil partner is entitled to married couple's or civil partner's allowance under section 45 or 46.
• The individual must have a valid election in force for the tax year, must make a claim, and must satisfy the residence requirements of section 56.
• When the transfer takes effect, the spouse's or civil partner's own tax reduction is correspondingly reduced by deducting half the minimum amount from the amount on which their relief is calculated.
• The election procedure is set out in section 50 and, once made, remains in force until withdrawn — but a separate claim must still be made for each tax year.