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The Conservatives are proposing to give four million married couples and civil partners on low and middle incomes an annual £150 tax break.Under their plan, the tax break would apply to basic rate taxpayers earning under £44,000 where one couple doesn't use their full personal allowance.
David Cameron has long called for the tax system to recognise marriage but has never before given details.
Labour and the Lib Dems have previously attacked the idea as unfair.
The Tories would achieve the tax break by allowing some people who are married or in a civil partnership to transfer part of their tax free personal allowance to their spouse or partner.
That spouse would be able to transfer £750 of their personal tax-free allowance to their working partner, which the Tories say will represent a tax cut of about £150 a year for four million people.
'Symbolic'
The Tories say the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies has judged that the policy would cost £550m annually and the tax break would be funded from the money raised on the Tories' planned levy on banks.
The Conservative commitment is to introduce the tax break during the next five-year parliament but they say they hope to introduce it in next year's Budget.
This is when they expect to introduce the bank levy which they hope will raise about £1bn a year by taxing risky borrowing. The rest of the money raised from the bank tax will go towards paying down the deficit.
Conservative sources said the tax break was designed to be a "symbol and message" that marriage was supported by the tax system.
But critics will say that it encourages one partner to stay at home and not work, and nor does it target help to children.
Labour says it supports marriage as a "really important institution" for bringing up children but that all forms of stable and loving relationships should be equally recognised.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls said earlier this year that offering married couples tax breaks would amount to "social engineering".
The Lib Dems have previously suggested such a move would be "immensely unfair" and amount to a bribe.This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.