Can I sell my original house by transferring it to relative in order to refund the second home duty

Wixam0411

I plan to sell my house in oversea in order to refund the second home duty.  Can I use the method of transferring to my relative instead of selling it?  What evidences should I need to submit to HMRC to prove that the ownership of the house is not mine?

loubel

Giving away a house seems a bit overkill to reduce an SDLT liability...

sheramber

Is the overseas house your main and only residence?

silvercar

You’d have a CGT liability based on the gain in value of your overseas home, assuming it hasn’t been your main home for the whole time of ownership.

your relative may have overseas taxes to pay on purchase, depending on the rules of the overseas country.

what will you do if they refuse to return it to you in time?

user1977

Wixam0411 said:

I plan to sell my house in oversea in order to refund the second home duty.  Can I use the method of transferring to my relative instead of selling it?  What evidences should I need to submit to HMRC to prove that the ownership of the house is not mine?

That depends how you transfer ownership of property in the mystery country you're talking about (and whether it is a genuine transfer of beneficial ownership, and not some temporary swaparoo to evade tax).

Though bear in mind that SDLT is self-assessment, so the question is what evidence you need to retain if it is later queried by HMRC, not something you submit to them up front for their approval.

_Penny_Dreadful

Wixam0411 said:

I plan to sell my house in oversea in order to refund the second home duty.  Can I use the method of transferring to my relative instead of selling it?  What evidences should I need to submit to HMRC to prove that the ownership of the house is not mine?

Have you already purchased a property here on which you paid the higher rate of SDLT? 

Has the overseas property been, at any point in the last 3 years, your main residence?