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<p>The Marriage Allowance was introduced in 2015-16 to recognise the importance of
marriage in the tax system. Around 1.8m people have claimed the allowance to date.</p><p>
</p><p>Our current best estimate assessment of the initial cost of this allowance
is £140m in 2015-16, but this does not include the impact of any expected future claims,
which can be backdated to this year. The total cost of this allowance is forecast
to rise to £385m in 2015-16 once these claims are taken into account.</p><p> </p><p>An
estimate of the initial cost of this allowance for 2016-17 will not be available until
the end of the tax year. We forecast an eventual cost to the exchequer of £425m, once
all backdated claims are taken into account.</p><p> </p><p>HM Treasury does not hold
information relating to the income deciles of claimants or successful applicants of
the Marriage Allowance. Previous analysis of the total eligible population has shown
the majority of the benefits of this policy go to the bottom half of the income distribution.
Only basic rate taxpayers and non-taxpayers will benefit.</p><p> </p><p>HM Treasury
does not hold information about either how many individuals claiming Universal Credit
are eligible for the Marriage Allowance, or how many are in receipt of it.</p><p>
</p><p>The income decile profile of claimants of Married Couple's Allowance is set
out below for the latest year available (2014-15):</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td
colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td
colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="3"><p>Percentage</p></td></tr><tr><td
rowspan="2"><p><strong>Percentile Groups (ranged on total income before tax)</strong></p></td><td><p>
</p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p>
</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p>
</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>0-10%</strong></p></td><td
colspan="2"><p><strong>10-20%</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>20-30%</strong></p></td><td
colspan="2"><p><strong>30-40%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>40-50%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>50-60%</strong></p></td><td
colspan="2"><p><strong>60-70%</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>70-80%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>80-90%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>90-100%</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>
</p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p>
</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p>
</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014-15</strong></p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>0.5</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>16.9</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>19.3</p></td><td><p>15.7</p></td><td><p>12.7</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>11.5</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>9.9</p></td><td><p>6.9</p></td><td><p>6.5</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>These estimates are based upon the 2014-15 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI).</p><p>
</p>
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