From: usenet@isbd.co.uk
Newsgroups: uk.finance
Subject: Re: Another properties problem
Date: 14 Jan 2004 16:43:28 GMT

Ronald Raygun  wrote:
> > 
> > We are considering moving abroad again in the next year or two and,
> > after an overlap, may well sell our house in Suffolk.  Since this is
> > our primary residence I can see no major tax implications there.
> 
> You didn't say when you bought the Suffolk house.  If it was before
> 1987, there could be some CGT due if ever you sold it.
> 
We've had a UK house of some sort continuously since 1972, I think we
may have had only the flat for a few years while we were overseas.
We've had the flat since 1981/2 or so, three houses since we returned
in 1987.  (That's three different houses one after the other, not all
at the same time!)


> > However I'm a bit in the dark about the flat, what would be the best
> > way in the long term of (maybe) transferring it to our daughter or (if
> > she decides not to stay in London) of realising its value tax
> > efficiently?
> 
> The trouble is, if you give it to her, or sell it to her, that would
> realise the gain and CGT would become due.  In addition, if you give
> it to her, 7 years would need to elapse before you die if IHT is to
> be escaped.  There again, if you're into IHT planning, you'll need
> to think what to do about your other assets too, not least the Suffolk
> house.
> 
Yes, it's the IHT thing that's  one of the things that's beginning to
look relevant.

> It may be more effective just to bite the CGT bullet, in which case
> a sale would be preferable to a gift.  It would need to be at market
> value, but you could lend her the money to buy it off you, and it would
> be up to you whether to bother charging interest.  Also, you could
> gift her up to £3k each per year towards reducing the debt, without
> IHT implications.
> 
Thanks for the ideas.

-- 
Chris Green