Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Civil partnership definition

What does Civil partnership mean? A civil partnership is a legally recognised relationship formed by registration that gives a couple rights and obligations broadly equivalent to marriage, including in property ownership, succession, pensions, tax treatment, immigration status and parental responsibility. It is commonly used as an alternative to marriage in family, private client and pensions practice. In England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, civil partnerships are created and dissolved under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (as amended). Since 2019–2020, both same-sex and opposite-sex couples may register. In Scotland, civil partnerships are governed by the 2004 Act as adapted and the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020;...

UK tax treatment of marriage and civil partnership: income tax, CGT, IHT, main residence, spousal transfers/allowances, and separation/divorce changes (2023–2025)

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note sets out the tax implications of entering into marriage and Civil partnership, including in relation to income tax, Capital gains tax and Inheritance tax.

Seek specialist advice where appropriate. The tax treatment of civil partners mirrors that of spouses. For UK tax purposes, an individual is regarded as married or as a civil partner if they have undergone a formal marriage or civil partnership ceremony, or, from 10 December 2014, have converted a civil partnership into a marriage by formal declaration. Simply living together, or being in a so‑called common law relationship, does not amount to marriage or civil partnership.

Income tax and capital gains tax (CGT) Rules refer to spouses/civil partners who are “living together”. This phrase does not require sharing the same home—or even the same country. It covers all spouses/civil partners unless one of the following applies:

They are separated under a court order, or by a formal deed of separation executed under seal (in Scotland, the deed should be witnessed and registered).
They are in fact separated in circumstances where the separation is expected to be permanent.

Accordingly, only relationships that have effectively broken down are excluded from the “living together” treatment for income tax and CGT purposes...

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David Salter

David Salter has enjoyed a varied career in family law with over 45 years’ experience. He served as National Head of Family Law at Addleshaw Goddard and, subsequently, as Joint National Head of Family Law at Mills & Reeve, retiring in 2018.From 1997-1999, David was Chairman of Resolution, also acting as the first Chairman of Resolution’s Accreditation Committee. He subsequently became President of the International Academy of Family Lawyers from 2010 to 2012, having previously served as the Academy's European Chapter President.He has sat in various part-time judicial posts since 1985 sitting regularly as a deputy High Court judge and Recorder in the Family Court until March 2022. He now conducts private financial dispute resolution appointments.David was one of the original members of the Family Procedure Rules Committee which framed the 2010 Rules, serving a ten-year term from 2004 to 2014.He is a...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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