Spouse share gifts

[dowles]

Hi

Can i gift shares between myself and my spouse indefinitely to make maximum use of our tax situations. For example let's assume I have a job that pays £20,000 per year and I receive dividends of £10,000 per year from shares I own. I would therefore have to pay tax on £5000 worth of those shares (taking into account the new £5,000 dividend allowance). However If my spouse does not have a job I could gift those shares to her and thus between us pay no tax. Now if in a couple of years the roles are reversed and I stop working and my spouse gets a job - could she re-gift those shares back to me so we would again continue to pay no tax on this income? Could we then do this as often as we like to continuously take advantage of our current situation?

Thanks

[pawncob]

Gifts between spouses are exempt from CGT, so no tax arises on the gift. Income is assessable on the current owner of the asset. Yes you can do this.

[bd6759]

Gifts between spouses are not exempt, but do not give rise to a gain or a loss. The distinction was important when there was an indexation allowance.

There has to be a point when it becomes clear that gifts are not really being made, but until then you are entitled to managed your assets as you see fit.