Tax planning for sale of two properties

[woodrow]

‘House A’ was purchased in August 2009, solely in my name, as a primary residence for me and my partner (who became my spouse in 2011).
‘House A’ remained our primary residence until September 2013 when we moved abroad.
From September 2013 to present, ‘House A’ has been rented out.
We returned to the UK in November 2016 and lived with family / in rented rooms until early November 2017, when we purchased ‘House B’ as our primary residence.
We are now in a position where we would like to sell both properties. We expect the value of 'House A' to have almost doubled. The value of 'House B' may have fallen - we may take a loss on that sale.
Should we consider transferring part of the ownership of ‘House A’ to my spouse, to reduce our capital gains liability? Will the order / timing of the sales be critical for us in terms of tax liability? Would it be worth us returning to use ‘House A’ as a primary residence?

[AGoodman]

You will be able to claim PPR for the period of occupation + period of rental (up to £40k) + the last 18 months.

Your wife will not be able to claim this. So you need to work out the saving in terms of annual exemption (£11,700) and any difference in tax rates (through you being or becoming a higher rate taxpayer as a result of the disposal) if you transfer and compare to the PPR lost. It all depends on the values and your other income.