sdlt charge children purchase

[tomki]

Quick question to ask you about implication on parents buying a property for children and all family will reside on the property thereafter.
Parents are subject to 3% additional charge on second property, as result they are looking to buying property and putting into children's name.

1) Can parents buy property for children and putted into children name ONLY without paying 3% sdlt additional charge ?

2) Would children (4 year & 1 year) be subject to 3% additional charge because parents are subjected too ?

3) Can parents sell property anytime until children reaches 16 or 18 without children permission ?

4) Could parents look after and be responsible of property e;g (paying utility bills, council tax, service charge and all other requirements that typical owner is responsible too until children reaches 18) ?


Ay help is appreciated !

[bd6759]

Minor children cannot be legal owners of property.

The parents could own the property on trust for the childeren, but the 3% aditional SDLT would still apply.

The children would be entitiled to the proceeds of any sale. You could hold the proeceeds or reinvest in another property whilst they are minors, but they would be entitiled to it when they reached the age of majority.

[maths]

The children would be entitiled to the proceeds of any sale. You could hold the proeceeds or reinvest in another property whilst they are minors, but they would be entitiled to it when they reached the age of majority.

The above assumes that the property is purchased and held under a bare trust (which is common).

However, the property could be purchased and held under a settlement (be that discretionary or interest in possession).

The 3% SDLT charge still applies whether the property is held under a bare trust or settlement.In any event avoiding a 3% SDLT charge needs to be traded off against any other adverse tax consequences (eg IHT: CGT etc).

Grandparent involvement may enable the 3% charge to be circumnavigated.