UK Landlord Forum / Life

A man and his wife own a flat that they plan to rent out. The flat is currently registered to them both as joint owners. The man's income is close to the 40% threshold so they want all the income to go to the wife whose income is just below the 20% threshold.

Can he just write to Land Registry asking that he be deleted as an owner and then his wife can declare all of the income as hers ?

After a couple of years, when they are thinking of selling the property, can she add him back on as an owner so that they can each claim their full Captial Gains Tax allowance ?

With joint ownership, HMRC assume a 50:50 income split but it's relatively straightforward to vary it (there's a form...). However, that split needs to reflect the reality of the situation. If one party wants to gift the other their share in the property, the mechanism to use is a Declaration of Trust. Transfers between husband and wife are not subject to CGT and, if there's no consideration, there's no stamp duty. Be careful where there is a mortgage outstanding as this can effectively amount to consideration. I'd recommend using a solicitor to draw up the Declaration.

It is indeed permissible to transfer the property back prior to any sale. It's not necessary to inform the Land Registry.

If the mortgage is in joint names (which is should be for a joint tenancy), there shouldn't be an issue with consideration even if there is a mortgage, because the mortgage shouldn't be affected.