Millomite Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Me and my girlfriend are considering buying her grandmas old home, which is now jointly owned by my girlfriends mum and aunt. They have just had it valued and have said they wont rob us on the price but they cant give us it really cheap. They mentioned something about tax implications but didn't know much about it. Does anyone here know anything about it and can give me a bit of info in leymans terms as some of the stuff on the web is quite baffling. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 I only know a bit about it, but technically if you buy it below market price there is a form of benefit involved that in theory can be taxed. In practice loads of dodgy stuff goes on with house buying so depending how much you pay you should be fine as long as its a half sensible amount. Buying from relatives can be a nightmare so it depends how much they want to help you out but generally get a few valuations and decide whether you want to buy at the average or try lower. Obviously they will have no estate agents fees etc which are worth at least 1.25% plus vat of the sale often more. On a side note if you get it cheap then were you to break up and have to split the proceeds on the house it can get messy. Only saying as I've just been through this and got stung properly. In your instance it would be you set to make the gain so its probably not something to think about too hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr W Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 I would have thought that if even if you were given the house as a gift then there wouldn't be any tax implications as long as you live in the house as your principal private residence as this is tax free when you sell, if it were a2nd property or an investment property then it would be different. This is my opinion but I could get our tax guys to confirm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millomite Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 It's my girlfriends mum and Aunt's second home, i.e. both have a separate house each Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr W Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 The tax implications would be on them and they would be charged capital gains tax on the profits they make but this would be the same whether they sold it to you or someone else. You however wouldn't have to pay any tax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millomite Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Apparently they are going to reduce CGT arent they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob300w Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 "I would have thought that if even if you were given the house as a gift then there wouldn't be any tax implications as long as you live in the house as your principal private residence as this is tax free when you sell, if it were a2nd property or an investment property then it would be different. This is my opinion but I could get our tax guys to confirm." I think that it is far more complex than this, I believe that you can only receive £7000 per year tax free in cases like this, and if you are given the house and the donor dies within 7 years you are liable for tax. Not certain of the figures, you will need to see a soloicitor to buy the house, so ask him for the details. As it is your Aunt's second home she may be liable for tax on her share of the proceeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr W Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 (edited) If person giving the gift were to die within 7 years of the gift then the potentially exempt gift would become chargable in the estate of the person who died not the person who received the gift. The personal exemption for CGT is £9,200 in 07/08 and if mother and aunt owned the property jointly they could each use their exemption against the profits but this would happen whoever the property was sold to. As the property is not being sold at a large discount then there are no tax issues that HMRC would bother with (I'm talking from the receivers point of view here not mother & aunt) Edited March 10, 2008 by Dr W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr W Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 "Apparently they are going to reduce CGT arent they?" That depends on several things such as what tax brand you fall into and whether the assets are non-business or business assets. Some people will benefit i.e those with investment properties who have seen huge gains and would have been taxed at 40% and some will lose out i.e the person who has owned and built up a business over the years and has decided to sell up and retire, if they sell before 5 April 08 then they'll be taxed at an effective rate of 10% after 5 April 08 they'll be taxed at 18%. Is this fair? Probably not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 CGT is changing so they won't get hit so hard on the sale after April, In theory if HMRC believe you have received the house at below market value they can see this as a capital gain, obviously you do have an allowance and in practice its unlikely to be looked into as long as you aren't buying it for silly money. From the info posted the house is going to be sold rather than gifted, IMHO you want to get an idea of the amount they want to sell for. If its close to market value then there is no issue, but if its more than 25% under you need proper advice. The only other aspect is how long have they owned it and when did they either buy it or were they given it by your Gran. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millomite Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 (edited) They have owned it for around 5 years, it was left to them after my girlfriends gran died Edited March 10, 2008 by Millomite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 (edited) I'll throw this into the pot - is there no inheritance tax issue (won't affect puchaser)? WGD Edited March 10, 2008 by wgd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Inheritance tax should have been dealt with when they were left the house, so its not an issue them selling it on. Unless you buy it for a massively reduced figure don't worry too much but if you are getting a lot off it then get proper legal advice. There may be tax to pay but only because they are selling a second house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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