Form 17 and joint tenancy

Me and my spouse own a rental property as "joint tenants" and we would like to change the rental income split. Do we need to sever the tenancy so that we own the property as "tenants in common" before using Form 17 and declare a change in beneficial interests ?

Hi,
Please refer you to TSEM9851 which states the following- ‘Where married couples or civil partners elect not to be taxed 50/50, the normal rules of beneficial ownership apply.
The starting point is that the jointly held property is presumed to be held as joint tenants (TSEM9230).
As TSEM9230 says, there are various ways this presumption can be displaced by evidence to the contrary - for example, a valid declaration of trust in equal or unequal shares.
However, if the shares are equal there would be no possibility of a joint declaration on form 17 for tax purposes, so only a declaration in respect of unequal shares would be correct.
Thank you.