Property tax for couples

Another thought prompted by a client discussion and help out.  Of course no names.

The way property taxes work in France and the Uk is very different for a UK property:

- in France you are normally taxed as a household - so exactly who owns what share is usually not a bit deal;

- in the UK, it matters a lot.  The standard assumption is a married couple owning a property together split the income 50/50 - unless they have filled in some very specific forms to change it.

This matters.  If one of the couple declares 100% of the income on their UK tax return there are several effects - none good:

- the net profit benefits from only one personal allowance, not two - so you likely pay too much UK tax; and

- its technically wrong - so the person not declaring is not filing a UK return when they are obliged to.  This will become very visible indeed on a sale or with the new landlord database.

The good news - this is fixable - and you may even get a tax refund as an outcome!