Married with one house each

BPL

It's nearly two years since we married and we still have a house each. Has anyone kept this going beyond two years? Did you have to inform HMRC? We pay all bills at our respective houses and i live in mine a lot of the time as does my 26 year old son. Everything i have is registered at my house, likewise my wife with hers.

theartfullodger

All very well but where do you each GENUINELY live most of the time please?? "a lot of the time" is a different matter...

Do either of you claim single occupancy council tax discount??

I think we can all be confident that HMRC will understand some possible strange manoeuvrings.. 

Think a married couple can only have ONE prime residence between them. see
https://www.taxinsider.co.uk/how-to-nominate-and-vary-your-main-residence-ta#:~:text=The position becomes more complicated,one main residence between them.

pumas

A friend is still doing this after 10 years, but they didn't know it was 'wrong' til this year. They go home to their own houses most nights.
Might cause problems if it comes to selling, cgt etc..

lisyloo

The salient point is here

"A married couple can only have one PPR between them.  These rules are detailed at TCGA 1992, s 222(6).  The result of this is that they must choose which property will be their joint main home for tax purposes.  This means that one will be exempt from capital gains tax and the other will be subject to capital gains tax."

it doesn't matter where you both live, only one can be exempt from CGT (I would have thought you'd choose the one that had risen in value the most). The other one is subject to CGT.

SDLT_Geek

BPL said:

It's nearly two years since we married and we still have a house each. Has anyone kept this going beyond two years? Did you have to inform HMRC? We pay all bills at our respective houses and i live in mine a lot of the time as does my 26 year old son. Everything i have is registered at my house, likewise my wife with hers.

If you come to sell and buy a new home to live in, then, assuming the new home will be England, the stamp duty land tax position could be quite complicated.

It might work out well for SDLT if the one being sold (or the one being sold first) has been the main residence of both spouses.  The "replacement exception" from the 3% surcharge can then work favourably, even though that property is owned by only one of the spouses.

user1977

theartfullodger said:

Do either of you claim single occupancy council tax discount??

From previous discussions I think that is actually possible (though may involve some persuasion about the domestic arrangements).

BPL

There is no council tax where i live just rates and no single discount. 

BPL

Or names are only on our own houses deeds does this have any bearing? I can't pay cgt on a house i don't own....

theartfullodger

BPL said:

There is no council tax where i live just rates and no single discount. 

Which country (eg NI, Wales....)?

Bigphil1474

OP, you can't sell a house that you don't own either, but whoever it does belong to would have to pay the tax.

Must be in Northern Ireland I think to still have rates. It's neither here nor there I think, although I seem to remember they don't have a single person discount unless you are an OAP.

lisyloo

BPL said:

Or names are only on our own houses deeds does this have any bearing? I can't pay cgt on a house i don't own....

whoever owns it will have to pay the CGT (with only one CGT allowance).

Honestly did you really think you'd get round it that easily when the rules are very clear that the pair of you can have one PPR between you.