Taking the plunge and donating goods now could avoid a big capital gains tax bill – Jenny Ross

A I’m afraid the short answer is no, because HMRC treats a gift of property very similar to a sale, so you will be taxed as if you sold it at market value.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is simple in principle: it is levied on the profit you make when you sell certain assets. But things get complicated later, as the rate you will pay and the allowances you are entitled to depend on what you sell and how much you earn.

In the case of real estate (excluding principal residence – CGT does not apply here), base rate taxpayers pay CGT at 18 percent; higher rate taxpayers pay 28 percent.

To calculate your tax, you just need to apply your CGT rate on the taxable capital gain. The taxable gain is the difference between what you originally paid and the amount you received from the “sale” (around £ 110,000 in your case), less eligible expenses.

These expenses can include purchase costs, such as attorney fees and stamp duties, and, which is less important to you, selling costs, such as real estate fees and legal fees. . You can also deduct the cost of any upgrades that increased the final value, such as adding an extension. This does not include maintenance or decoration costs.

Keep in mind that you might be paying different CGT rates on different parts of the win. For example, if your annual income is £ 40,270, you will pay 18% on the first £ 10,000 of the gain, which will take you to the highest income tax threshold of £ 50,270 (different thresholds s ‘apply in Scotland). You will then pay the highest CGT rate (28%) on the balance.

You’ll also need to deduct your annual CGT allowance – the amount you can earn in profits before you start paying taxes. It’s worth £ 12,300 per person, so you and your wife will get a total allowance of £ 24,600 (assuming you haven’t already used some or all of it).

Where CGT is payable on the property, there is a 30 day period from the date of the sale (or transfer in your case) to declare and pay the tax.

While HMRC will treat the donated property as if you sold it at market value, the good news is that your son won’t have to pay stamp duty – as long as the money doesn’t change hands and it is an outright gift.

Giving the property to your son and taking the CGT hit now has another potential tax benefit: it will reduce the value of your estate, and therefore the inheritance tax bill that might be due after your death. (assuming your overall estate exceeds the inheritance tax threshold, which is £ 325,000 – or £ 500,000 if your primary residence is inherited by children or grandchildren). The overall rate of inheritance tax is 40 percent – far more than the CGT.

If you live for seven years after making a donation, it will be completely excluded from your estate and will not incur any inheritance tax. Until then, it will be treated as a “potentially exempt transfer”. Thus, if you die within seven years, it will be treated as part of your estate and will be subject to inheritance tax.

If your potentially exempt transfers are greater than the £ 325,000 inheritance tax abatement, the tax rate decreases based on the number of years since the gift was made – a system known as progressive lightening. If you donated six years before your death, for example, the rate would be reduced to eight percent.

In reality, most donations do not become taxable as the estate tax allowance of £ 325,000 is allocated to donations made within seven years of the donor’s death before the remainder of the estate.