Gift tax on mortgage repayment?

[plcanonica]

My partner and I (se have three children together but are not married or civil partners) own our house together, 66% me 34% her. We have a mortgage on it in both our names. I have inherited (from my Swiss domiciled father, so no IHT) enough money to pay off this mortgage. If I pay it off, do I have to declare it as a gift and pay taxes as the house is in both our names?

[AGoodman]

There is normally no gift tax in the UK.

The only tax risk is that if you die within 7 years of the gift it will be brought into account for inheritance tax. Assuming you are both on the mortgage, that would be 33% of the value you are paying.

[pawncob]

How did you arrive at 66/34? Is there a deed (or any other evidence that this is the split)?
Is the mortgage interest/capital repaid in this ratio by each person?

If there's no written evidence, the repayment could be deemed to be yours alone.

[plcanonica]

We are tenants in common with that percentage split. I think that means the split is registered at the land registry. We arrived at it because when we bought it that was the rough split of our contributions to the deposit. Also at the start we paid the mortgage in those proportions. Then kids came along and mine was the main (or sole) income so I paid most/all the mortgage for a while. On the other hand my partner put all her savings into the mortgage as overpayments so we've lost track of who has paid how much into it. To be honest it doesn't bother either of us, I just want to avoid doing the wrong thing tax-wise.

[pawncob]

If you're happy to make the gift, then there are no tax implications unless you die within seven years.(by which time it will have been conveniently forgotten?)