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Foreign transfers into children's savings account via parents - tax implications?

Hi, I'm looking at setting up children's savings accounts, mainly for money their Italian grandparent is giving them.
I asked Virgin as their Young Saver seems the best bet, but they don't accept foreign transfers.
I know that if the money comes from a parent there are tax implications, which makes me wary of getting the money transferred to one of us to pay in.  I suspect there won't be enough money in there for it to be a problem anytime soon, but I'd rather not have to keep it in mind.
Is it possible for a parent to pay money in on behalf of someone else?  Would I be better off looking for a savings account which accepts foreign transfers?
TIA,
Grant

Comments

  • Malthusian
    Malthusian Posts: 11,053 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    You should be fine acting as a middleman to receive the money and pay it into your child's account. In the unlikely event that HMRC came knocking you would tell them that the money was a gift from the grandparent to the child and you were handling it as trustee, i.e. it wasn't at any point your own money. A clear paper trail would back that up, i.e.  bank statements showing grandparent's money going in and the same amount immediately going out to the child's account, and an agreement in writing with the grandparent (email correspondence would do) that they will pay the money to you as a trustee.
    Another option is to set up a Junior ISA, which eliminates any worry over the £100pa rule for parental gifts - unless that is a waste of ISA allowance you want to use for gifts that actually are from yourself.
    If the children are young and have more than 5-10 years before access is required, a stocks and shares investment should be considered.
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