Blind Person’s Allowance is an extra tax free allowance of £3,250 for 2026 to 2027, added to your Personal Allowance. In England and Wales you must be registered with your local council as severely sight impaired; in Scotland and Northern Ireland the test is that you cannot do any work for which eyesight is essential. Claims can reach back up to four years, and any allowance you cannot use can be transferred to your spouse or civil partner.

How much is Blind Person’s Allowance worth?

The allowance is set by section 38 of the Income Tax Act 2007 and rises each year in line with the consumer prices index under section 57, rounded up to the next £10.

Tax year Blind Person’s Allowance
2026 to 2027 £3,250
2025 to 2026 £3,130
2024 to 2025 £3,070
2023 to 2024 £2,870

It is an allowance, not a tax credit. It is deducted from income at Step 3 of the tax calculation in section 23, alongside the Personal Allowance, so its cash value depends on your tax rate. A basic rate taxpayer saves up to £650 a year (£3,250 at 20%); a higher rate taxpayer saves up to £1,300. If you and your spouse or civil partner both qualify, you each get the allowance.

Unlike the Personal Allowance, it is not reduced when income exceeds £100,000. The taper in section 35(2) applies only to the Personal Allowance in section 35(1), and section 38 contains no income limit.

Who qualifies in England and Wales?

Section 38(2) requires you to be registered as a severely sight impaired adult in a register kept by your local authority: in England, under section 77(1) of the Care Act 2014, and in Wales, under section 18(1) of the Welsh social services legislation of 2014. HMRC’s guidance says you can claim if you are registered with your local council as blind or severely sight impaired and you have a certificate saying so, or a similar document from your doctor.

The register is the key. Registration as sight impaired, rather than severely sight impaired, does not meet the wording of section 38(2). You only need to meet the condition for part of the tax year to get the full allowance for that year, because section 38(1)(a) refers to “the whole or part of the tax year”.

Who qualifies in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

The test is different. Under section 38(3) you qualify if you are ordinarily resident in Scotland or Northern Ireland and, because of your blindness, you are unable to do any work for which eyesight is essential. There is no requirement in the legislation to be on a register. The test is functional: what your sight prevents you doing, not whether a council has recorded it.

The allowance is the same UK amount for a Scottish taxpayer, but its value follows the Scottish rate that applies to the income it covers. See Scottish income tax for the bands.

How do you claim?

Contact HMRC; the claim is not made automatically when you register with your council. HMRC then adds the allowance to your tax code, so an employer or pension provider gives it through PAYE. If you are unlikely to use all of it, HMRC can transfer the excess provisionally to your spouse or civil partner’s code during the year. Check your next coding notice to confirm the allowance is there; PAYE tax codes explains how to read one.

Can Blind Person’s Allowance be backdated?

Yes, through two separate rules.

The four year time limit

Section 43(1) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 allows a claim for Income Tax relief up to four years after the end of the tax year it relates to. In October 2026 the earliest year still open is 2022 to 2023, and a claim for that year must be made by 5 April 2027. For each earlier year you claim, you must have met the qualifying condition at some point in that year.

The preceding year rule for registration

Registration with a council often happens months after the eye examination. Section 38(4) deals with this. If you became registered in a tax year, but the evidence of blindness or severe sight impairment on which the registration was based was obtained in the preceding tax year, you are treated as meeting the condition for the whole of that preceding year.

Illustration only. Ravi lives in Wales. His certificate of severe sight impairment is signed on 20 February 2026, in the 2025 to 2026 tax year. His council registers him on 12 May 2026, in 2026 to 2027. He contacts HMRC in October 2026. He is entitled to £3,250 for 2026 to 2027, because he was registered during that year, and £3,130 for 2025 to 2026 under section 38(4). He cannot go back further, even though his sight had been deteriorating, because he was neither registered nor certified in those earlier years.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland there is no registration date to anchor the claim. The question for each year within the four year window is whether you were already unable to do work for which eyesight is essential.

How do you transfer unused allowance to a spouse or civil partner?

Section 39 lets you pass on the part of the allowance you cannot use. It applies if your spouse or civil partner lives with you for the whole or part of the tax year. The amount transferable is the excess of your Blind Person’s Allowance over your “remaining relievable income”, which is your net income less your Personal Allowance. You make an election and your spouse or civil partner makes a claim.

Your spouse or civil partner does not need to be blind. HMRC accepts a transfer where you cannot live together because of illness or old age, such as one of you being in residential care, working away from home, an armed forces posting, prison, or training or education.

Under section 40 the election must be made within four years after the end of the tax year and cannot be withdrawn. Making it also counts as notice to transfer any unused Married Couple’s Allowance for the same year. Use form 575 or phone HMRC; if you are reclaiming tax on savings interest on form R40, you can tick a box on that form to ask for form 575.

Illustration only. Elsie, who lives in England, has pension income of £14,000 in 2026 to 2027 and qualifies for Blind Person’s Allowance. Her Personal Allowance of £12,570 leaves remaining relievable income of £1,430. Her allowance of £3,250 exceeds that by £1,820, so £1,820 can pass to her husband George. Elsie pays no tax, and if George is a basic rate taxpayer his tax falls by £364.

How does it fit with other allowances for couples?

  • Personal Allowance. Blind Person’s Allowance is added on top. Only the excess over your remaining relievable income transfers under section 39; the Personal Allowance itself does not.
  • Marriage Allowance. A different relief that transfers £1,260 of the Personal Allowance itself. See Marriage Allowance.
  • Married Couple’s Allowance. For couples where one partner was born before 6 April 1935; form 575 handles transfers of both. See Married Couple’s Allowance.

What mistakes do people make?

  • Assuming registration with the council automatically tells HMRC. It does not; you have to claim.
  • Assuming you need to be on a register in Scotland or Northern Ireland, where the test is functional.
  • Delaying registration in England or Wales. The look back under section 38(4) reaches only one year before the year of registration.
  • Leaving the allowance unused when income is low, instead of transferring the excess to a spouse or civil partner.
  • Missing the four year deadline. Claims for 2022 to 2023 close on 5 April 2027.

Current allowances and thresholds are summarised in UK tax rates and thresholds for 2026 to 2027.

If HMRC opens a check into your return, tax investigation insurance pays your accountant’s fees. Solar Protect cover pays up to £100,000 with no excess; it never pays tax, interest or penalties. Read how our cover works or get a quote.

Related Accountapedia entries

Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.