Girlfriend moving in - contributing financially - tax implications?

paddy's_mum

DJMike - what you choose to do in the end is, of course, entirely up to you but you have just airily dismissed RAS's sound pointer as to what your position might be if the present amicable relationship goes pear-shaped.

I'd also add that the road to the courts is thronged with people who've learned to their cost that things don't always remain "exceedingly fair and sensible"!

Saying that she is a lodger is not going to fool a judge if ever this had to be decided by a court. How are you going to convince a judge that it was your lodger that you took out every Saturday night for years and that it was only the lodger that your family invited to their social events?

You may call it whatever you like but you may one day have to disprove your girlfriend's allegations that she contributed to the mortgage and it is that scenario that people are trying to point out to you. Hope it works out for you.

DJ_Mike

Thanks, but I'm asking about income tax, and you're replying about something that has nothing to do with income tax.

Yes, ownership and contributions and the impact of a break-up is important, but that is not what I need advice on. I realise you are trying to point out that it is not a gift if she tries to claim it back at a later point, but again this is not the spirit of what I am asking about - all I am concerned with is the tax-man in this thread.

But thanks anyway!

BitterAndTwisted

DJ_Mike wrote: »

Going with this thought a moment - we've talked about the whole Rent-A-Room thing - but surely if I took in a complete stranger as a lodger the same rules would apply? I can't see how it makes it any different if the lodger happens to be my girlfriend. Or do complete strangers somehow gain rights over your home if you take them in as lodgers as well?

The difference is that presumably you wouldn't be in a committed, long-term sexual relationship with a lodger. Although I daresay there are some lunatics out there who would claim they were if in a serious gold-digging fishing-expedition. Often a homeowner would have something like a lodger's agreement setting out basic house-rules etcetera in their back-pocket to refute any such spurious claims.

Also, please note that should the unthinkable happen like redundancy, unemployment, long-term illness access to State benefits would be severely limited as one partner is expected to fully support the other in such circumstances. This is often obvious to people who are in a marriage but sometimes comes as a very nasty surprise when they are not

DJ_Mike

I should perhaps add that my agreement with Abbey, on my mortgage, requires me to have anyone moving in write to them personally, to confirm that they have no financial interest in the property. Whether that prevents her from coming after me for money through the courts is another matter, but technically I could just produce a copy of that letter in court.