My client is a UK resident and is earning £45,000 gross employment income while her husband is working part time earning £11,000 gross employment income.

We are trying to figure out if there are any tax reliefs they can get to reduce taxable income. They have been married since August 2023 and were born after 6 April 1935. Can the marriage allowance be claimed?

Since being introduced in the 2015-16 tax year, the marriage allowance – not to be confused with the legacy ‘married couples’ allowance’ – has enabled spouses and civil partners the option to transfer part of their income tax personal allowance to their spouse or civil partner.

The marriage allowance is worth £252 a year and is a transfer of one of couple’s personal allowance, unlike the married couple’s allowance, which is a tax reducer and allows couples to reduce their tax bill by between £427 and £1,108. It is, however, not available to all, as this is only applicable if one of the spouses/civil partners were born before 6 April 1935.

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