Pre-Register Deed of Assignment of Beneficial Interest

Hi, I am the sole owner of a property, which is soon to be rented out. I would like to split the rental income equally between myself and my wife (who is not on the deed). For this, we will draft a Deed of Assignment of Beneficial Interest, assigning her a 50% beneficial interest in the property. My understanding is that this document does not need to be sent to HMRC, but that they could request it in future. However, my wife and I are due to move abroad in the new year, making sending these documents in future more difficult. Is it possible for us to pre-emptively send the Deed to HMRC to be acknowledged before we travel, ensuring that we do not need to send it again in future if HMRC question the distribution of income in our self assessment? Thanks.

Hi samuels,
In your situation, it would be advisable to send a copy of the declaration to HMRC so both records may be updated with the relevant percentage split of ownership.
Upon any further changes, please be aware that an amendment to the declaration would be expected.
Thank you.

Thank you! What address would it need to be sent to? and would I need to send anything in addition to the declaration, with the wording as below? (any cover letter or an explanation of why I am sending?) Thanks. Declaration wording: I, Person A, hereby declare that I intend to create a trust to transfer 50% of the beneficial interest in the property described as Address to my wife, Person B, without the transfer of legal ownership. By making this declaration, I acknowledge that Person B is entitled to 50% of any income derived from the rental of the property. This is a bare trust, no conditions or restrictions are attached to the transfer of beneficial interest. I understand that this declaration does not require registration with the Land Registry. The trust becomes enforceable from the date of this declaration. Signed by person A and B and witnessed

Hi,

As you are husband and wife you can complete a form 17 which can be downloaded from  GOV.UK and attach the declaration in the format you mention.

The return address is:

PAYE and SA
HMRC
BX9 1AS

Thank you.

Hi, Thank you for providing the address. As the house is owned solely in my name (not jointly owned) my understanding is that Form 17 does not apply, could you confirm this? If so, then do I simply need to submit the declaration and no other forms? Thank you.

Hi,

The property is solely owned by yourself. It will be your beneficial interest and not shared.

Form 17 is applicable when the property is to be unequally shared by married or civil partners. You do not need to complete a form 17. 

Thank you.

Thank you for confirming Form 17 is not applicable. In that case, please could you confirm that in order to split the beneficial interest in a property that I solely own between myself and my wife, all I need to do is submit the declaration as above, to HMRC. We can then each declare our split of the income separately on our self assessments, correct? When submitting the declaration, is there anything I should include to indicate why I am submitting it? As it seems there is no form to include, so a cover letter outlining its purpose or anything like that? Thank you.

Hi,
The process begins with having a property you jointly own and then agree an unequal share/slpit.
We recommend the following guidance:
Declare beneficial interests in joint property and income in terms of criteria and necessary proof.   
Thankyou.

Hi, Is it not possible to assign a beneficial interest to my wife, without the property being jointly held? I have seen this discussed in many places on this forum. My understanding is as a sole owner or tenants in common, it is possible to transfer a beneficial interest, and therefore rental income, through a deed of assignment? https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/ifp/51b6d0a5-6add-ed11-9ac4-00155d9c773c#6daccea1-6add-ed11-a7c6-0022483efbb1 https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/ifp/4ea6de9d-82b8-ed11-9ac4-00155d9771aa I am just wanting to check that by completing a deed of assignment as outlined above and sending it to HMRC at the address you provided, then the split in beneficial ownership will be recognised and we can each report 50% of the income on our tax returns. Please could you confirm if this is the correct, or if another process is needed to declare my wife as having a beneficial interest in a solely owned property. Thanks

Hi,
As outlined in your question and the previous responses on the matter quoted above, we would advise that the advice given is correct,
We would suggest completing a deed of assignment so that the corresponding beneficial interests can be reflected within our records for both parties. Thankyou.