Questions and Answers
Joint ownership of property
My husband and I have only just celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We have just bought an investment property together, which we plan to let. However, I am in a better paid job than my husband so I put up 70% of the purchase money. Right now, all our assets and income are kept pretty separate because we haven’t been married very long- so is there any way that we can apportion the rent from the house according to our investment?
If you live together with your spouse or civil partner, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will normally treat income from property held in your joint names as if it belonged to you in equal shares and tax each of you on half of the income, regardless of actual ownership.
However, if you actually own the property in unequal shares and are entitled to the income arising in proportion to those shares, then you have the right to be taxed on that basis.
You must simply complete HMRC form 17, which is available from their website www.hmrc.gov.uk. HMRC will expect to see some evidence to support your claim for the income apportionment.
It would be advisable to seek the advice from a solicitor on this, as there may be legal issues to consider. Your local TaxAssist Accountant would be happy to take care of your husband’s and your tax affairs though.
Date published 5 Dec 2012
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