Tax implications of land/property deal

Wifey

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This my first time posting and its going to be long winded so please bare with me.

My parents own their own home with a small piece of land attached. A developer who was building a huge estate behind them needed the land as an exit from the estate to the main road. So my parents swopped the land for four houses in the estate.

The developer has since approached them to buy out their own home as he wants to develop more flats, supermarket etc etc. Initially they were reluctant but they are now surrounded by flats etc on all sides and decided to leave. So after playing hard ball for many months they secured a cash settlement of 700K for a house that isn't worth half that.

I own my own house and will be selling it shortly to move into one of the four that my parents secured in the first transaction with the developer. My parents will accept no money for this house and i will make approximately 100K from the sale of my own house. New house will be worth approx 250-290K. We are unsure of value as they have not been put on the market yet.
My two brothers will also recieve new houses in the estate but they don't currently own any property.

So my questions is what are the tax implications for all of us?

Gift tax / Capital gains etc etc.

Dad wants to wait until he has a written (unsigned) contract before he visits the accountant but I would like a heads-up on potential pit falls and questions to ask before we make the appointment.

Thanks for taking the time to read through the post and all replies are greatfully received.
 
A few general thoughts. They must surely have received tax/ legal advice before the first transaction?

Parents have CGT on sale/swap of land for houses. Do they have stamp duty then as investors on each of the houses? Or will houses be taken individually by each family member as an owner/occupier? In which case, is builder making a gift of each house to each family member, bar the parents?

Is there CGT on disposal of house now as it is being sold for a price greatly in excess of the actual market value because of development potential?

It really is the classic case of go get very specific legal and taxation advice now ( don't wait) to try and structure the transactions in the most tax efficient way.

mf
 
I don't think your parents will have to pay cgt on their own house even if the price is inflated at €700k - it's still their ppr. However if they sold/swopped the site access for 4 houses they may have to pay cgt on that value. Even if they gift you a house you will be liable for stamp duty on the market value of it, but at half the normal rate as it is a transfer between parents and a child. The value of the house would be below the gift/inheritance tax threshold from parent to a child so I don't think you will have a tax liability. It would appear that your parents though would have a tax liability, but maybe you and your siblings could pay that for them as a cheap way of aquiring a property. Watch the gift tax threshold from a child to a parent though. You should be ok at those values.
It would be a good idea to consult a tax advisor to get the most tax efficient way of doing this or a good solicitor as well as an accountant.
 
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