I have two properties in my sole name and am a 40% taxpayer, whereas my wife has no income at all. I am looking to enter her on the deed by transferring her 50% of the equity on these properties. She will be hit with a tax bill of £3,750 on £125,000, but we okay are with this. Can I then use Form 17 to split the income 90:10 in her favour?
Arthur Weller replies:
You can use the Form 17 to transfer 90% of the income to her. But you first need to actually transfer 90% of the house to her, and then submit the Form 17 within 60 days of the transfer. See https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/trusts-settlements-and-estates-manual/tsem9800, in particular TSEM9850. In order to achieve this, you don't need to first transfer 50% to her.