My husband and I have been amicably separated for over two years since he moved out of our home. His name is on the title deeds and he pays the mortgage. We are looking at selling our house but he has a six-figure IRS tax bill in the US, and our worry is that the taxman will take the money from the sale of the house to pay it, leaving me with nothing. He is a broadcaster and created a limited company for his earnings at the request of his employer. The IRS found him liable to pay them backdated taxes. I haven’t worked for ten years but my husband pays me £2,000 to £3,000 a month. His priority is that I should come out of the sale of the home with enough money to buy myself a small house or flat outright to ensure my future is secure. We are not sure if I should try to take over the mortgage and have the deeds transferred into my name or if there are other options. 

Arthur Weller replies:  

By 'IRS', I presume you mean the US Internal Revenue Service and not HMRC. From a UK tax perspective, if your husband transfers the house to you, there will be no UK capital gains tax (CGT) consequences. If you take on responsibility for the mortgage, you will have to pay stamp duty land tax (SDLT) based on the amount of the mortgage but if your husband retains responsibility for the mortgage, you won't. However, how the IRS will view this 'deprivation of capital', and whether they come after you because your husband recently transferred his house to you, I cannot answer.