Shares Issues - US to UK

TonyJF

tebbins said:

If she has sought advice I'm not sure what we in the forum can add.

My original question was about the shares, not tax. She has sought advice in the US, my question was about the procedure I would have to follow here in the UK in terms of the shares.

ColdIron

TonyJF said:

Thrugelmir said:

TonyJF said:

Thanks for these replies. She has been informed that if she sells the shares, the tax will hit her hard, which is why she wants to avoid selling.

A transfer is a disposal, irrespective of the consideration received. The tax authorities not unsurprisingly closed this very obvious loop hole many moons ago. Your mother needs to seek proper advice rather than attempt something foolish. . 

She has sought proper advice and is not doing anything foolish, thank you. She will pay tax, but has been informed that the tax burden is higher if she sells than if she transfers.

It is entirely possible that a transfer will just defer some or all of the tax rather than avoiding it. Perhaps it could be as simple as transferring the tax burden from her to you that her advisers could view as beneficial to their client. As already mentioned, everybody would be using this obvious ploy if it was that easy

Thrugelmir

TonyJF said:

Thrugelmir said:

TonyJF said:

Thanks for these replies. She has been informed that if she sells the shares, the tax will hit her hard, which is why she wants to avoid selling.

A transfer is a disposal, irrespective of the consideration received. The tax authorities not unsurprisingly closed this very obvious loop hole many moons ago. Your mother needs to seek proper advice rather than attempt something foolish. . 

She has sought proper advice and is not doing anything foolish, thank you. She will pay tax, but has been informed that the tax burden is higher if she sells than if she transfers.

Bottom line the intention is to avoid tax. If she's sought advice then there's little to add. 

EdSwippet

TonyJF said:

Thrugelmir said:

TonyJF said:

Thanks for these replies. She has been informed that if she sells the shares, the tax will hit her hard, which is why she wants to avoid selling.

A transfer is a disposal, irrespective of the consideration received. The tax authorities not unsurprisingly closed this very obvious loop hole many moons ago. Your mother needs to seek proper advice rather than attempt something foolish. . 

She has sought proper advice and is not doing anything foolish, thank you. She will pay tax, but has been informed that the tax burden is higher if she sells than if she transfers.

Right. Several posters upthread have made the mistake of assuming that US tax laws on gifting appreciated stock are the same as UK ones (that is, treated as a disposal for the giver). They are not. The problem for you is how to receive these stocks. Are you a US citizen? If yes, that might make things a bit easier. Or, it might not. There is potential in your situation for double-tax if not done right.

More here: Taxation of Gifts: UK rules vs US rules - Ingleton Partners

Excerpt:

UK

When you gift an appreciated asset, it will be deemed to be disposed at the fair market value on the date of the gift. However, the gift being “a gift” likely means the donor will not be receiving any proceeds and they will need to fund the capital gains tax bill. ...

US

For US citizens, the making of a gift, is a non-recognition event for capital gains purposes. In most cases, the original cost basis of the gifted asset is also inherited by the recipient of the gift. ...

george4064

If you’re insistent on transferring the shares as they are, you’ll need a brokerage account in your name in the US. Have you tried to open one?