My husband and I jointly own shares together, although they are all actually in my name. I know and understand what the tax allowances are in terms of capitals gains tax (CGT) on any profit made from shares I go on to sell and the tax allowances available on dividends that I receive. My questions is, because we are married can we double up those allowances (in a similar way to how inheritance taxes allowances can be) or do we have to physically split the shares into separate names and accounts in order for us both to benefit from our tax allowances?
L Hazard
To take advantage of your spouse’s annual CTG and dividend allowances, you need to transfer shares into his name. If they are all in your name, then your husband’s allowances cannot be applied to them. Transferring ownership of a shareholding to a spouse is straightforward.
Ask your stockbroker/platform (or the registrar of the company in the case of direct holdings not held through a platform) for stock transfer forms, one for each holding you are transferring. Once the forms have been completed, with details of how many shares you are transferring, the shares will be transferred into his account – this will be easiest of all if he has an Isa/investment account at the same firm/platform – as an inspecie transfer subject to the usual charges, or new certificates will be issued.
Because you will be transferring ownership to a spouse, you will not have to pay any CTG at the point of transfer (transfers are treated as sales for the purposes of tax), and should your husband sell the shares in future and need to calculate any CGT liability, the purchase price will be the one that you paid when you originally acquired them. Note that if you hold shares in an unlisted company, you would need to check the company’s articles and agreement before making a transfer as there may be restrictions in place.
