Property owned solely by one spouse, how is rental income split?

My client owns a property solely in her name. She is married. The property was purchased during their marriage. I understand that there may be an old law that states that, despite the property being solely in her name, HMRC will treat any rental income as being split equally between her and her spouse. Please could you let me know if this is correct and if so where the information is in the manuals?

If your client owns 100% of the property then they will own 100% of the rental income. The assumption about it being split equally only applies to property held jointly as tenants in common and is only really relevant where the shares they hold are unequal. If they held it as joint tenants or as tenants in common with an equal (50/50) split then they could only be taxed on a 50/50 basis. While if they own as tenants in common in shares of say 60/40, they will be taxed on a default 50/50 basis unless they use form 17 to declare their split is 60/40 (and they'd then be taxed on the 60/40 basis rather than the default 50/50).

Hi,
We automatically assume a 50/50 split regarding beneficial interest for a differing beneficial interest percentage you would need to complete a form 17 please see the relevant guidance at:
Declare beneficial interests in joint property and income
Thank you.

Thanks for both answers, that makes it crystal clear for me.

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