Income Tax Act 2007 section 51

Transfer of unused relief

Section 51 allows unused Married Couple's Allowance (MCA) tax reductions to be transferred from the spouse or civil partner who holds the allowance to the other partner, where the holder's tax liability is too low to use the full reduction.

• Where a spouse or civil partner's MCA tax reductions exceed their comparable tax liability, the unused portion can be transferred to the other partner as an additional tax reduction.
• The MCA tax reductions include the basic entitlement under section 45 or 46, plus any amount transferred back under section 49.
• To qualify, the spouse or civil partner must notify HMRC that the transfer is to apply, the receiving individual must make a claim, and must meet the residence requirements in section 56.
• This transferred tax reduction is in addition to any reduction the individual already receives under section 47 or 48.