Elsie Bee
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Capital gains tax when property jointly owned husband/wife then only wife
Hello. I would appreciate some advice. My husband and I jointly bought a house in the UK in 1985. In 1997 we transferred the ownership into my sole name as the house was to be rented out and I was a lower rate taxpayer than my husband. We lived in the house on and off between 1985 and 2013, when we moved permanently to Spain (my husband was in the UK Armed Forces so we moved around a lot). We have original 1985 purchase documents (in joint names) and the Land Registry document from 1997 which states my sole ownership from June 1997 to now. My husband and I are still married and since 2013 we have lived in Spain full time. The UK house is now up for sale. Upon a successful sale of the property, my questions are: 1. Should my husband and I both complete a Capital Gains tax declaration, or only me? 2. On the CGT calculation webpage it asks for the date of purchase of the property. I assume that would be 1985? But I only paid 50% of the property purchase cost in 1985 (the funds came from our joint bank account but I suppose that is a nominal 50% each). I can't put 1997 as the purchase date because no money transferred hands - it was a straightforward transfer between husband and wife and there was no Capital Gains tax to pay at that time. Any help gratefully received. Thank you.