Can I gift my gf her ISA allowance?

hennerz

Can I give my girlfriend £15k to put in an ISA and fill her allowance? There's no obligation for her to pay me back some day, but she may. I googled and it seems to be fine if you are married, but we are not. Could anyone clarify please?

Keep_pedalling

You can gift anyone however much you like. If you happen to die within seven years of the gift however there could be inheitance tax issues if your estate is over £325k.

hennerz

Thanks.

I was worried the HMRC may view it as tax avoidance or something like that.

bargainbetty

If you have earned the money and paid full tax on it, how would you be 'avoiding' tax? If you are thinking of the sum she would earn in tax-free interest, it would be hers to do with as she chooses. So would the money, so be very sure about doing this. You have no legal recourse to a penny without a signed loan agreement, and even this thread confirming it is a non-repayable gift unless she decides otherwise later could be evidence of the 'gift' if you two break up.

If you are seeking a better interest rate, I'd be tempted to look at other investment opportunities - the only way to get a decent rate on an ISA at present seems to be to lock in for a long time, and if you can do that, you my find other ways to earn money on your savings.

zygurat789

hennerz wrote: »

Thanks.

I was worried the HMRC may view it as tax avoidance or something like that.

Of course you are avoiding tax by taking an action which reduces your tax bill, it's all perfectly above board and legal and HMRC wont say anything.
But remember that this year if you earn less than £15,200 then
you don't need to put money in an ISA it will be tax free anyway from 6 April 2015 and from 56 April 2016 if you are a basic rate tax payer then you can receive £1000 of interest tax free

DigForVictory

In your reasonable enthusiasm to optimise your tax efficient savings there are two things to consider.
One is the timing - you don't want to crack open an ISA to then block your ability to get a help-to-buy ISA, if that might be a shrewd move.
The other is the ongoing - a gf is a gf and thus legally entirely an autonomous entity.
Just how safe your savings are may vary wildly depending on who you consult.