Deed of assignment

Hi Admin, I own a rental property which is solely in my name in the title deeds and the mortgage of it. I am working full time and I am a higher rate tax payer. My wife,whom is a lower rate tax payer, takes care of the running of the property and deals with any issues with the tenants. I wish to assign 100% beneficial interest of the property to the wife. Therefore she declares all the rental income for it and pays the tax on it accordingly. My accountant and a solicitor have said this is possible by doing a deed of assignment which transfers all the beneficial interest to her. The solicitor has said this deed of assignment kicks in as soon as it is witnessed and signed by all parties. Form 17 does not apply to us as the property is solely owned in my name only. However, my solicitor said once deed of assignment is done it will assign all beneficial interest to the wife from that point onwards and there no need to send to HMRC unless they request for it at any point in the future. But my accountant has said it may need sending to HMRC once done. Can you confirm if I need to send the deed of assignment to HMRC or not? There is nothing in your manuals/guidance pages to suggest if it needs to be sent to you or not. Thank you

Hi,
 

Thank you for your question. I would refer you to the guidance on our web site at TSEM9150 - Ownership and income tax: legal background: ownership: legal and beneficial ownership - separation - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk),  I can confirm that there is no need to send a copy of the declaration of trust to HMRC but you should keep a copy in your records in case we ask to see it at a later date. Thank you.

Thank you for the prompt reply. I have noticed you mentioned Declaration of Trust. I have done a deed of assignment. My solicitor has said both a declaration of trust and deed of assignment are accepted by HMRC for this purpose. I can assume the same answer ie there is no need to send a copy of the deed of assignment to HMRC and I should keep a copy in my records in case HMRC ask to see it at a later date? Thank you

Hi,
 

Thank you for your question. The guidance at TSEM9170 confirms that either a declaration or deed of trust is acceptable . See link: Trusts, Settlements and Estates Manual  . You do not need to send a copy of the deed but should keep a copy in case it is requested  . Thank you.

Hi HMRC, Thank you for replying. I have come across other responses to people's questions from hmrc admin on this forum where the hmrc admin seems to accept a "deed of assignment" in order to transfer beneficial ownership? Can you please double check this?

Hi, apologies for any intrusion I want to know the answer to the same question. The guidance you sent dont specifically answer the question. Also I have had conflicting answers on similar post. What I want to ask is 1) if property deed and mortgage IS in the sole name of one person, will HMRC accept a deed of trust in order to give 100% rental income to their spouse? Even though the mortgage and title deeds will be in the name of the trustee and not in their spouse name? 2) is there a way of getting confirmation from HMRC that this will be acceptable in order to avoid any future misunderstanding? 3) can we use the reply given by admin as proof? Many thanks

Hi
 

Harbs,   Thank you for your question. Your solicitor is quite correct. HMRC will accept a 'deed of Assignment' to transfer beneficial ownership. I can confirm that you do not need to send this deed to HMRC but you should keep it for your own records of evidence that a transfer has occured. Thank you.

Hi
 

Hasan Ali ,   Thank you for your question. The deed of trust is supporting evidence to confirm the split of property income between spouses. The claim is made using form 17 and a deed of trust. The individuals are declaring what the split of profits is between spouses. This will be accepted as long as there is supporting evidence. Thank you.

Hi My husband and I jointly own our home. We rent it out on Airbnb a few times a year. In March we signed a deed of assignment so that I am assigned the beneficial interest of the property. Do we need to have provided this information to HMRC already? We have not sent anything to the land registry as this didn't seem to be necessary with a deed of assignment? Is the fact it is witnessed and dated enough proof or is there anything else that counts as 'supporting evidence'? Thanks!

Hi Libby

Thank you for your question.
As a Deed of Assignment has been created this would be deemed sufficient evidence to assign beneficial interest of the property to yourself.
Although you are not obligated to send this to HMRC, please be aware that HMRC may request this in future for inspection. 

Thank you

Hi HMRC, I own two rental properties which are solely in my name in the title deeds and the mortgage of it. My wife looks after the running of the properties and the tenants I wish to assign 100% beneficial interest of the property to my wife. Therefore she declares all the rental income for it and pays the tax on it accordingly. Reading above on this forum, people have asked similar questions and I have also spoken with solicitors who have confirmed that this is possible by completing a "deed of assignment" which transfers all the beneficial interest to her. Form 17 does not apply to us as the property is solely owned in my name only. Solicitors have confirmed once the deed of assignment is complete it will assign all beneficial interest to my wife from that point onwards. When I called up HMRC, there was a conflict of responses compared to the previous Admin responses in this forum. Can you confirm if the above is possible and what documentation HMRC would need to see.

Hi,
We would agree with the position that has been stated by the Solicitor in that by completing a Deed of Assignment, you may assign the beneficial interest in the property solely owned by yourself to your wife.
As stated, the Form 17 would not apply as the property is not held in joint names.
We would advise that once the Deed of Assignment has been completed to keep hold of a copy as HMRC may request to see it in the future.
In this case, also complete a Declaration of Trust, which the same applies.
Further information may be found here:
TSEM9170
Thank you.

Hi Admin, me and my wife are tenants in common in our property (50% share each). I wish to move the beneficial ownership to new sahres (100% me - 0% my wife) for tax purposes in terms of rental income. My question are: 1) Is a deed of assignment enough for this? 2) Does this need to be drafted by a solicitor or can I do this in the presence of a witness? 3) Once the deed of assignment is in place do I need to submit it to HMRC or other government service?

I have two rental properties in my name only and owned outright (without mortgage attached). My understanding from your responses to the assigning of rental income to spouse is that; 1. My spouse can become a beneficiary of the rental income if a "Deed of Assignment" is completed and that 2. It is required for perusal by HMRC - however, only when a request is made This is clear thank you - My question is does the "Deed of Assignment" need to be executed by a solicitor - when I put the question online the response was no. Also when I contacted HMRC on 2/4/2024 I was told that my wife could only become a rental beneficiary if she had some equity in the rental property - which differs from this thread

Hello HMRC Admin, I have a jointly owned UK rental property held in trust in which I have a 62% share. The trust is registered and I am the lead trustee. I intend to give half of my present share in the property to my spouse and to include them as a beneficiary in the trust. I understand that the transfer of gifts between spouses will not attract any tax liability. This transfer will be covered by an amendment to the trust deed. I am organising a valuation of the property at the time of the transfer in case of future capital gains liability. I will notify HMRC of the changes to the trust and I see from recent blogs that there is no requirement to complete form 17, but please advise me of any further action I should take including whether the transfer should be included in our self assessment returns. Kind Regards

Hi Nicholas Prendergast,
I apologies for any confusion caused by previous answers given in respect to your previous questions.
Your wife must be a part owner of the property, therefore, you would need to amend the property deeds and include her as a beneficial owner.
Following this action, you can then split the rental income. Normally the rental income is split 50/50 unless form 17 and Deed of Trust is completed and submitted to HMRC.
Additional information can be found at PIM1030 - Introduction: jointly owned property & partnerships
and TTSEM9812 - Property held jointly by married couples or civil partners: Overview: two main rules
Thank you.
 

Hi,

You can find more information about the transfer of gifts to a spouse here:

Capital Gains Tax: what you pay it on, rates and allowances

Form 17 is only required for a property that you own jointly with a spouse or civil partner and you want to change the split of income, to your actual share of ownership.

You do not need to include details of the changes you have made to the trust deed on the Self Assessment tax return itself, notifying HMRC of this will suffice.

Thank you.

Hi, For a sole property owner looking to transfer 100% beneficial interest of the property to wife, is there a form or template Deed of Assignment? Also, is it correct that the Deed can be completed by the owner without using a solicitor and it will be acceptable to HMRC? Many thanks, TR

Hi TR,
Thank you for your question.
A Solicitor is not required when creating a declaration of trust. A trust deed is a general term for a document which contains the terms of the trust. A declaration of trust is a type of trust and is a document by which the person or people who own as assess delare that they hold it on trust in specifed shares. Evidence of the unequal shares should be provided with the form 17.
Thank you.

Dear HMRC, I am the sole legal owner of my rental property and I would like to assign 100% beneficial ownership to my wife via a deed of assignment. Legal ownership will not change and title of the property will remain in my name. I use a solicitor to draft it. I have four questions: 1) once the deed in place, I was told that we do not need to submit Form 17 as we are married and the legal ownership doesn’t change. I was told to keep the copy in case HMRC wishes to verify it. Is this true? 2) I was advised to register the deed as a trust with HMRC as failing to do so would incur £5k penalty. Is this correct and if so please attach the link to register it. 3) would the assignee (my wife) be able to claim 20% mortgage relief? Mortgage is in interest only type and is in my name. 4) if my wife cannot claim mortgage relief and I decided to assign her 90% beneficial income, would I be able to claim mortgage relief with my 10% beneficial ownership? Many thanks for the answers in advance.