Dear all,

A supplementary question to another I have posted to do with completion of the IHT400 form.

My mother bought the house that me, my wife and her shared - putting in 44% of the equity (and therefore giving her a 44% share in the property). Her name was placed on the deeds at the Land Registry.

In 2013, she wanted to pas her share to us and have her name taken off the deeds.

We went to her solicitor and a deed (of some sort, not sure exactly what it was called) was drawn up in which she gifted her share to us with the reservation that she continue to live in the house (no rent was charged) and that it couldn't be sold by us without her agreement.

This is with 7 years as defined by HMRC for 'Tapered relief' on gifts.

I was under the impression that this had to be entered on the IHT400 as a 'gift with a reservation of benefit - GWROB).

I have been informed by some members of this forum that HMRC will treat this as part of my late mother's estate.

My query is now this.

If HMRC will treat this 'gift' not as a gift but as part of her estate for IHT purposes, will I (or me and my wife jointly) be liable for and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and, is so, what is the likely rate of tax going to be?

The inclusion of my mothers 44% equity in the property means that her estate will fall far below the £325k inheritance tax threshold, so no IHT will be due.

I hope that's clear.

Cheers,

Don

Rather than getting yourself in a twist on the forum with all us lay experts and this never ending tale -

I suggest you take some paid for advice from a decent local accountant who deals in personal taxation and IHT submissions, your case is not complicated.

Tax accountants are not expensive, for a few hundred pounds you can get a definitive view -i.e. what will be acceptable to HMRC and the appropriate forms prepared and submitted correctly.

I am not an accountant but I do have one and he saves me a lot of anxiety and form filling and his charges are £240 for my tax returns and no you can't have his contact details.

Err ... thanks Keith.

You aren't an accountant by any chance?

I totally agree that replies expressed here are opinions and carry no real weight but coming into this with no knowledge at all I was just seeking some advice/reassurance.

If you don't feel able to contribute, then don't - it makes no difference to me at the end of the day.

I am grateful to folks that have contributed in a positive way to this tread/discussion (and my other thread concerning the completion of the IHT400 form).

Jon

What I have an issue with is that I know that there is no IHT liability as my mother's estate in TOTAL (bank accounts, cash, jewellery, shares and her part of the house) come to well under the £325k limit and so I am loathe to fork out several hundred pounds in order to prove this to HMRC.

I am surprised by your comment "no you can't have his contact details" - I understand why you might not want to post their contact details in an open forum but you could PM them.

Anyhow, the IHT400 is with the HMRC and I've completed it "to the best of my knowledge and belief" so we'll see what happens.

In any event, I just sought some reassurance as to whether there would be any CGT liability or not.

Whether the replies I get actually reflect the reality of what HMRC ultimately decide is anybody's guess!

Don