Gift to parents

Bionic

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I have a situation that I need to figure out the best way forward
We will be visiting a professional financial advisor but I just wanted to get some guidance to try to steer me right

I took out a mortgage on a house in 1998 the mortgage is now fully paid just a couple of years ago
At the time my parents accountant advised them on a ‘tax strategy’ as they owned a small business at the time which included their primary private residence

So I lived in the house for about a month but after that my parents moved into the house and I moved out. they paid rent to me which covered the mortgage cost. I submitted a tax returns et cetera each year and everything is above board in that regard. Parents also covered the cost of any tax bills each year

Now my parents business has long been sold and they have lived in the house for the past 20 odd years but the property is obviously still in my name. They live there rent free now and I have a primary residence with my wife and kids

I am wondering what the best thing to do is. If I were to sell the house when they die then obviously I’ll pay capital gains tax the sale of the house
However I am trying to figure out if I were to gift the house to them now and they would put it in their will to return it to me on their passing would that be more beneficial and I would have to pay less tax?

Another caveat is – myself and my wife I looking to trade up our principal residence and possibly move to a larger house and we are about to begin the mortgage application process. The banks will most likely ask to see my details of properties et cetera and I have this property worth approximately 330,000 Euro but it is not getting any income at the moment as my parents are living there rent-free since the mortgage has been paid off a few years ago
We also have another apartment in my wife’s name that we rent out. It’s in negative equity but the value is now above the remaining mortgage so we may sell that to partially fund our planned house move

Sorry for rambling as it’s first post so be kind!
 
Hi Bionic

Can I simplify this to see if I understand it.

You bought a house in 1998.
You have since let it.

When you sell the house, it will be subject to CGT.

So if you sell it now or gift it now to your parents, you will pay CGT on the gain.

They will also pay Capital Acquisitions Tax on the gift over the threshold of €32,500

Let's say that the property is worth €330k and you paid €230k, I think that this is the rough calculation. But I am not an expert.

Capital Gains Tax for you 33% of €100k = €33k

Capital Acquisitions Tax for them:
Gift: €165k each
Threshold €32k
Small gift exemption: 3k
Taxable: €130k

CAT liability : €43k each by 2 = €86k
Less credit for CGT as it arises from the same transaction: €33k
Net CAT: €56k

So it's not a good idea.

Could they buy it from you and limit your CGT to €33k?

You could give them an interest-free loan of €165k each. This probably would not attract CAT as it would be below the annual small gift exemption and anything left over would use up the €32,500 threshold.

Brendan
 
Do you parents have any assets to leave you on their death? If so, what are they and how much are they worth?

They can leave you €335k without you having to pay any CAT .

If they leave you a house worth €330k and a mortgage on it of €330k, then that is fine. It is 0 from a CAT point of view.

But if they have €400k of assets, then your €335k is already used up, so any increase in value of the property would be subject to CAT in your hands, so saving CGT is pointless.

Brendan
 
We also have another apartment in my wife’s name that we rent out. It’s in negative equity but the value is now above the remaining mortgage so we may sell that to partially fund our planned house move

Off-topic, but there is a contradiction / confusion here.

You say the apt is in negative equity.

Then in the same sentence you say the value of the apt exceeds the mortgage, which means it is in positive equity.

You may be making a mistake that is fairly common - confusing a capital loss with negative equity.
 
Off-topic, but there is a contradiction / confusion here.

You say the apt is in negative equity.

Then in the same sentence you say the value of the apt exceeds the mortgage, which means it is in positive equity.

You may be making a mistake that is fairly common - confusing a capital loss with negative equity.
My understanding is
purchased for €180k
Apartment now worth €135k
We owe €100k on mortgage

So are we not in negative for the purchase to sale price i.e. we sell it for less than we bought it for?
Hi Bionic

Can I simplify this to see if I understand it.

You bought a house in 1998.
You have since let it.

When you sell the house, it will be subject to CGT.

So if you sell it now or gift it now to your parents, you will pay CGT on the gain.

They will also pay Capital Acquisitions Tax on the gift over the threshold of €32,500

Let's say that the property is worth €330k and you paid €230k, I think that this is the rough calculation. But I am not an expert.

Capital Gains Tax for you 33% of €100k = €33k

Capital Acquisitions Tax for them:
Gift: €165k each
Threshold €32k
Small gift exemption: 3k
Taxable: €130k

CAT liability : €43k each by 2 = €86k
Less credit for CGT as it arises from the same transaction: €33k
Net CAT: €56k

So it's not a good idea.

Could they buy it from you and limit your CGT to €33k?

You could give them an interest-free loan of €165k each. This probably would not attract CAT as it would be below the annual small gift exemption and anything left over would use up the €32,500 threshold.

Brendan
You bought a house in 1998. correct - Mortgage of £98k (approx €120k EURO)
You have since let it. - let it to my parents - they paid rent that covered mortgage and tax costs etc

House now worth approx €330k so if I sell it then I will pay CGT on €210k or approx €63k

are there any reliefs here? -

Exemption for Dwelling House - on the Revenue site

revenue.ie/en/gains-gifts-and-inheritance/cat-exemptions/exemption-for-dwelling-house/
sorry cant post links

looking at it in laymans terms it seems that there are some criteria we could fall in to if I gift the house to them
both parents over 65 yrs old
house has been main home for 3+ years
they dont own another house
 
My understanding is
purchased for €180k
Apartment now worth €135k
We owe €100k on mortgage

So are we not in negative for the purchase to sale price i.e. we sell it for less than we bought it for?

Capital loss = 45k if sold now.

Positive equity of 35k.

Can you believe an AIB mortgage official made the same mistake to me? They confused capital losses with negative equity, and they work in a bank!!
 
Capital loss = 45k if sold now.

Positive equity of 35k.

Can you believe an AIB mortgage official made the same mistake to me? They confused capital losses with negative equity, and they work in a bank!!
ok so for tax and CGT purpose do they take the capital loss in to account i.e. we dont pay any CGT as we have made a capital loss?
Can we offset that loss against another house sale?
 
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