adding husbands name for capital tax relief

savinglikemad

hi, I am about to sell a buy-to -let I have owned in my own name since 2002, Can I add my husbands name to the deeds to double the capital gains tax allowance, If so what complications may there be, other than obvious solicitors fees, and If I can when is latest I can do it as hIP being done today.

dzug1

Yes you can add your husband's name to the deeds (tr - gift him half the property). If it's mortgaged, the lender's permission will be needed.

Complications - he may decamp with his half of the proceeds.

Plus it may be too late - the HIP includes a formal check on ownership so if that bit of it is actually done today it will be wrong.

Your solicitor should handle the lot though - that's what you are paying him for. He'll advise what delay doing this will cause.

ceeforcat

The answer is in the question - if you are simply transferring the property into joint names to avail of two CGT exemptions this will fail. It will be regarded as simply a tax saving exercise and the HMRC will investigate - have had three instances of this in the last five years.

You must be able to prove that you had no intention of selling the property when the transfer was made and that would generally mean a reasonable period of time elapsing being the events. I would suggest, from experience, at least a year.

savinglikemad

thanks for that wish I had thought of it earlier.