What is Blind Person’s Allowance?
Blind Person’s Allowance is an additional tax-free amount added to your Personal Allowance if you are registered as blind or severely sight impaired. It increases the amount of income you can receive before paying tax, and unused allowance can sometimes be transferred to a spouse or civil partner.
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Check what you're owed →Blind Person’s Allowance recognises that people who are registered blind or severely sight impaired may face additional costs, and it gives them a higher tax-free threshold. It is added on top of the standard Personal Allowance, so more of your income is free of tax. The qualifying conditions depend on your registration status, which can vary slightly between the nations of the UK.
A particularly useful feature is that if you do not have enough income to use all of the allowance yourself, you may be able to transfer the unused part to your husband, wife or civil partner. This means the benefit is not wasted where the eligible person has a low income, and the couple can still gain from it overall.
The allowance does not happen automatically — you usually need to tell HMRC that you qualify and provide details of your registration. Because the amount changes from year to year, check the current figure on GOV.UK. If you or a partner are registered, it is worth making sure the allowance, and any transfer, is in place.
How to claim Blind Person’s Allowance
- Confirm your registration. Check you are registered as blind or severely sight impaired under the rules for your part of the UK.
- Contact HMRC. Tell HMRC you qualify and provide the details they need, such as your registration information.
- Consider a transfer. If your income is too low to use the full allowance, ask to transfer the unused amount to your spouse or civil partner.
- Check your tax code. Confirm the allowance is reflected in your tax code so the extra tax-free amount is applied.
Frequently asked questions
- Who qualifies for Blind Person’s Allowance?
- People who are registered as blind or severely sight impaired, subject to the registration rules that apply in their part of the UK.
- Can the allowance be transferred?
- Yes. If you cannot use all of it because your income is too low, you may transfer the unused part to your spouse or civil partner.
- Is it given automatically?
- No. You normally need to contact HMRC, confirm you qualify and provide registration details for the allowance to be applied.
- How much is it?
- The allowance is a set amount that changes each year. Check the current figure on GOV.UK before relying on it.
MoneyFinder is an independent sign-posting service that helps you find financial support you may be entitled to. We are not a government body and do not provide financial advice. Figures are taken from the official sources cited above and were correct when last checked — always confirm current details on the linked GOV.UK pages.