We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide

Help please to reduce tax liability on savings

OK here goes, I am married, I am a 22% tax payer and have 25k in savings in my savings account
Mrs Stavros is a 40% tax payer and has a few grand more than me in her own account. How do we reduce the amount of tax she pays on her savings, we are both maxed out on tax free savings, not interested in premium bonds etc. Can she legally transfer any of her savings to my account etc. advice most appreciated
Liquidity is when you look at your investment portfolio and **** your pants

Comments

  • dzug
    dzug Posts: 2,260 Forumite
    Stavros wrote: »
    OK here goes, I am married, I am a 22% tax payer and have 25k in savings in my savings account
    Mrs Stavros is a 40% tax payer and has a few grand more than me in her own account. How do we reduce the amount of tax she pays on her savings, we are both maxed out on tax free savings, not interested in premium bonds etc. Can she legally transfer any of her savings to my account etc. advice most appreciated

    Yes she can - but they then legally become your savings. She is making a gift to you of the amount.

    Depends how much you trust each other....
  • Stavros_3
    Stavros_3 Posts: 1,288 Forumite
    100% dzug, how much can she transfer?
    Liquidity is when you look at your investment portfolio and **** your pants
  • Mikeyorks
    Mikeyorks Posts: 10,380 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    As much as she likes. But ... sensibly, just enough to keep you under the 40% threshold. Bear in mind that's all your earned income + gross interest from savings etc.

    Consider investing some of her money (after equalising, as above) in NS&I index linked Certificates .... which are tax free.
    If you want to test the depth of the water .........don't use both feet !
  • If you had a joint account, any interest income would be half yours and half hers, but she will still have control over it.
  • Jonbvn
    Jonbvn Posts: 5,562 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    The best way (IMHO) is to use index linked certs for most of your savings. You can put 15k each into 3-yr & 5-yr certs, allowing you to save 60k in one go. It is also possible to put them into trust for each other (but gets complicated). 100% tax-free, & guaranteed by the treasury.

    Consider putting a small amount into a instant access savings a/c in your name for emergencies.
    In case you hadn't already worked it out - the entire global financial system is predicated on the assumption that you're an idiot:cool:
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 121,155 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    £7k ISA allowance each per tax year and index linked certs are tax free. as mentioned. Low yield unit trusts or ZDPs can help as can pension contributions.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • Smi1er
    Smi1er Posts: 642 Forumite
    If you had a joint account, any interest income would be half yours and half hers, but she will still have control over it.

    Not always. Generally it is 50/50 but you can make a statement that it's whatever split you want.
  • Cook_County
    Cook_County Posts: 3,096 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Smiler is not correct. You cannot make a declaration (on form 17) for bank accounts. These are automatically 50:50.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 354K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 455.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 247K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 603.6K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 178.3K Life & Family
  • 261.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.