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Giving a house to a sibling.

In a nutshell I own a house outright (no mortgage), it is my only property and I want to give it/transfer it to my brother. He does not currently own a property. I would like to do this DIY rather than pay a solicitor to assist with the process, because quite frankly I don't want to pay for a service if I can do it myself – albeit this has not been established as of yet. I would like to know if anyone has experience of doing this, and to ask how I go about doing it?

I perfectly understand the pitfalls of gifting to family, losing all rights/say regarding the property etc. This is what I would like. I do not wish to retain any benefit or say over what is done with the house. The objective is for him to do as he pleases with it regardless of whether we fall out or he marries and divorces a devious sod or any other hideous potential future scenario you can think of. That side of things I am not worried about. I am however concerned about the process, the fees involved and any tax liability.

The house is worth circa £145,000, so would it mean that there is potentially some Stamp duty to be paid?
It has been my primary residence for the time I have owned it, so I assume no capital gains tax liability?

Any information people could chip in would be very useful.

Thank you.

Comments

  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977
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    edited 16 June 2017 at 2:35PM
    If you receive no Consideration in return, there's no SDLT. Though I think you'll still need to send a SDLT declaration to HMRC. See

    https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/overview

    Then complete and send to Land Registry forms

    TR1
    AP1
    ID1

    See guide.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/registered-titles-whole-transfer-tr1

    Edit:
    Exemptions

    You don’t have to pay SDLT or file a return if:
  • aneary
    aneary Posts: 921 Forumite
    Can I be your sibling please.
  • hazyjo
    hazyjo Posts: 15,468
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    The only other thing I can think of is what's your brother's current living situation? If he's in a council property or similar, or renting, the maintenance may be paid for. Will he have the money to actually look after/maintain a house?


    Jx
    2023 wins: *must start comping again!*
  • 00ec25
    00ec25 Posts: 9,123
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    edited 16 June 2017 at 3:01PM
    nobigdeals wrote: »
    The house is worth circa £145,000, so would it mean that there is potentially some Stamp duty to be paid?
    It has been my primary residence for the time I have owned it, so I assume no capital gains tax liability?

    Any information people could chip in would be very useful.

    Thank you.
    SDLT is based on chargeable consideration given and received, not on value. In the case of an outright gift of a property with no mortgage on it then you get nothing back in return so there is zero consideration and therefore no SDLT to pay, irrespective of the property value.

    as GM correctly subsequently points out you do not have to complete a SDLT return in that case:
    https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm62030
    "Transactions ‘exempt under schedule 3’ of the Finance Act 2003
    - no chargeable consideration for the transaction."


    RE CGT as you recognise yourself, as the property has been your main/only home for the entire time you have owned it then the "disposal" of it by transfer to your sibling is exempt from CGT irrespective of the fact it is a transfer between "connected persons"

    Re ongoing occupation
    - if you continue to occupy the property yourself after having transferred ownership in full to your sibling then your "gift" counts as a gift with reservation of benefit for the purposes of your own inheritance tax position. However, given you say the property is ("only") worth £145k, I doubt your estate is large enough for IHT to be factor you need concern yourself with.
  • nobigdeals
    nobigdeals Posts: 4 Newbie
    edited 16 June 2017 at 7:41PM
    Thank you very much GM and 00ec25. Better information and advice than I could have hoped for. All forms filled in, and following a visit to a Land Registry Information Office next week, the whole thing should be done for the princely sum of £60 and a few passport photos.

    hazyjo, barring catastrophe he is in a position to maintain the house, but appreciate your mentioning, not something one immediately thinks of.

    Afraid not aneary, one is pricey enough.

    Thanks again all

    Edit:
    I found the information videos on the Land Registry website both very useful and reassuring as a guide to completing the forms correctly.
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