Proceeds of House Sale
Proceeds of House Sale
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jrb43

Original Poster:

894 posts

279 months

Saturday 6th July 2024
quotequote all
Sorry, this is another PH "I've got too much money" thread. In fairness, rare for me biggrin

My wife owned a house before we married. She subsequently let it out and is now in the process of selling it. At no point have we ever put the house in my name or the finances of that property anywhere near my accounts because we have very different tax positions (she currently earns below personal allowance).

When the funds are released from the sale, they will be greater than her ISA allowance and so we'd like to put a portion of it in my unused tax free allowance. Can anyone see any problem with that? And is it OK for that to occur before the CGT settlement (which we'll obviously do pronto but only based on her tax position as I've been nothing to do with the property)?

Plan is to use the money to renovate our home in 12 months or so: not looking for longer term investment

TIA

Countdown

47,699 posts

220 months

Saturday 6th July 2024
quotequote all
Yes she can but bear in mind she's effectively gifting you the money. She can't demand it back (of course you can choose to give it to her)

In terms of the CGT it's irrelevant whether she gifts you the money before or after she submits the CGT return. AIUI she has 60 days from the date of sale to let HMRC know and to pay the amount owed.

Kickstart

1,111 posts

261 months

Saturday 6th July 2024
quotequote all
I thought ladies who sell former main home were exempt from CGT biglaugh

Panamax

8,494 posts

58 months

Saturday 6th July 2024
quotequote all
Yes, you can make gifts tax free between spouses any time you like.
No, you can't just "put stuff in their name" for tax avoidance. It's either a gift or it's not.

jrb43

Original Poster:

894 posts

279 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
Thank you all. Yes, plan was to describe the transaction (and subsequent kitchen purchase) as gifts. Thanks for the reassurance.

jrb43

Original Poster:

894 posts

279 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
Kickstart said:
I thought ladies who sell former main home were exempt from CGT biglaugh
True, but only if they're intellectually challenged rolleyes . Which my wife isn't.

FilH

1,078 posts

168 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
jrb43 said:
Thank you all. Yes, plan was to describe the transaction (and subsequent kitchen purchase) as gifts. Thanks for the reassurance.
Are you telling your wife the new kitchen is a gift for her?


Your brave!

jrb43

Original Poster:

894 posts

279 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
FilH said:
Are you telling your wife the new kitchen is a gift for her?


Your brave!
biggrin
I'll start a new thread on will-writing advice...

Countdown

47,699 posts

220 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
jrb43 said:
Thank you all. Yes, plan was to describe the transaction (and subsequent kitchen purchase) as gifts. Thanks for the reassurance.
Just curious - who would you need to describe the transactions to and why? HMRC don't care what you or your wife do with your money as long as you've paid the tax on it.

jrb43

Original Poster:

894 posts

279 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
Countdown said:
Just curious - who would you need to describe the transactions to and why? HMRC don't care what you or your wife do with your money as long as you've paid the tax on it.
My post was born out of a state of paranoia: the rent from her house has always gone to my wife's separate account so it can't be confused with my income and she will be disposing of her asset to attract CGT at basic rate.

Despite giving them healthy donations on a monthly basis, and filling out comprehensive SA, I'm always fearful that HMRC will take further interest in money appearing in my account - legitimate though it is!

This will be the first time the house has, in any way been associated with me and I wanted a sanity check smile

Countdown

47,699 posts

220 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
jrb43 said:
My post was born out of a state of paranoia: the rent from her house has always gone to my wife's separate account so it can't be confused with my income and she will be disposing of her asset to attract CGT at basic rate.

Despite giving them healthy donations on a monthly basis, and filling out comprehensive SA, I'm always fearful that HMRC will take further interest in money appearing in my account - legitimate though it is!

This will be the first time the house has, in any way been associated with me and I wanted a sanity check smile
Fair enough. The same thing happened to my nephew - he was getting £2k a month from his wife. HMRC asked to see his wife's statements and they could see that she was declaring all her income so it was very straightforward.

ferret50

2,748 posts

33 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
Countdown said:
Fair enough. The same thing happened to my nephew - he was getting £2k a month from his wife. HMRC asked to see his wife's statements and they could see that she was declaring all her income so it was very straightforward.
Toy boy?

biggrin

C69

1,131 posts

36 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
Slightly O/T and you're probably already aware, but if your wife lived in the house before letting it, then she'll be eligible for some Private Residence Relief for GCT purposes. If that's the case, then don't forget the last nine months either.

Countdown

47,699 posts

220 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
ferret50 said:
Countdown said:
Fair enough. The same thing happened to my nephew - he was getting £2k a month from his wife. HMRC asked to see his wife's statements and they could see that she was declaring all her income so it was very straightforward.
Toy boy?

biggrin
He wishes biggrin

His account is the ones the bills go out plus they’re saving for a bigger house of so that’s her contribution.

jrb43

Original Poster:

894 posts

279 months

Sunday 7th July 2024
quotequote all
C69 said:
Slightly O/T and you're probably already aware, but if your wife lived in the house before letting it, then she'll be eligible for some Private Residence Relief for GCT purposes. If that's the case, then don't forget the last nine months either.
Yes, thank you. Mercifully the period it's been let is relatively small compared with the time it was her primary (only as it happens) residence so the CGT hit is unpleasant but not intolerable.