I am the sole director and shareholder of a limited company, which holds a mortgage-free residential buy-to-let property. If I transfer all the shares to my two daughters at no cost, or perhaps nominal value, will I be liable to tax? I know that I must outlive the gift by at least seven years for inheritance tax purposes. 

Arthur replies: 

If someone transfers something to a connected person (the definition of which includes a daughter; see HMRC’s Capital Gains Manual at CG14580), then the capital gains rules ignore how much is actually paid, and deem it as though it was transferred at market value (see CG14530). You must consider what the market value of the shares is today, and what you originally paid, and the difference is the capital gain (see CG14200).