Question Regarding Gifting Half Of Flat to Wife

[ReddFour]

I have a flat which is rented. There is also a mortgage on the property.

Can I gift half the property to my wife but retain 100% liability for the mortgage? If so, does this mean I would not have to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax?

[AndrewDod]

No, HMRC would not entertain a situation where you (the presumed higher taxpayer)
claim 50% of the income and 100% of the expenses
and your wife
claims 50% of the income and no expenses

Stamp duty is not payable on a gift (regardless of the mortgage or anything else)

[jpkeates]

Your mortgage lender wouldn't allow the title transfer (as then they'd be exposed to the full loan on half the property).

What are you trying to achieve (if it's just a lovely gift for the wife, don't bother to respond!)
8-)

[AndrewDod]

Although I think you could have a deed of trust entirely independent of the mortgage. At the end of the day the mortgage company won't care about this (nor do they even have to know about it) - they will still have full coverage for their loan.

[Gordon999]

What is the value of 50% of the property ? Before 5th April 2016, SDLT is charged at 2% on property values between £125K and £250K.

[jpkeates]

The reason for the original question was that I am looking to sell the property soon and am looking to minimize Capital Gains Tax.

You don't want to gift the property, you want to change the ownership using a declaration of trust.
However, this is going to be tricky to do if you're about to sell the property, because it's an obvious attempt to avoid paying tax.

That's not necessarily a problem, so see an accountant and take advice.
But gifting is not going to be a possibility because of your mortgage.