Question:
My father has just passed away and my mother lives in a home. My wife and I have now secured Power of Attorney and my daughter is interested in buying my mother's house.
The property is probably worth around £150,000...can somebody advise on the cheapest way of doing this and would selling below market value be illegal in this case, as I don't think the value reaches the CGT threshold?
Arthur Weller Replies:
There should be no CGT on the sale of the house from your mother to your daughter. On one half your mother is not liable to any CGT because it is her principal private residence. On the other half, your mother has just now inherited it from your father, and the difference between its probate value (market value at the time of death) and its present market value, is likely to be very small. There could also be other reasons why you should not be concerned about CGT here, but it is not necessary to elaborate.
As for stamp duty, until 31 December 2009, there is no stamp duty on residential property up to a value of £175,000.
