Is tax better if you buy house in one name or joint names?

Hi Juny1,

That will depend on the entirety of your assets and income, and whether you're tax resident in the UK or Spain - and without knowing all your personal circumstances, I doubt anyone, other than a qualified tax advisor (or Jim Taylor on this forum) would be able to tell you that with any certainty.

Kind regards,

Kim

Thanks Kim, looking to buy a holiday home so would be non-resident

Hi Juny1,

That makes it slightly less complicated in the sense that non-residents' tax is based on the Cadastral (land registry) value of your Spanish property, so it will be the same amount whether one or both of you are registered as the owner. 

However, you do need to declare overseas assets to HMRC in the UK and depending on your individual tax situations in the UK, overseas ownership (and who owns it) may have some bearing on your UK tax.  In your position, I'd start with a call to HMRC and ask 1st line support (the person who answers the phone) if you can speak to a "Technical Advisor" - they may arrange a call-back for you, if there isn't a Technical Advisor immediately available, or they may deal try to deal with your enquiry:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/income-tax-enquiries-for-individuals-pensioners-and-employees

By way of example, my husband and I live permanently in Spain and own our primary residence here.  We also own a property in the UK, which we rent out.  Neither of us is UK State pension age yet, but my husband's "Crown pension" (RAF pension) has to be taxed in the UK, rather than Spain, and is significantly higher than the UK personal tax allowance.  I have private pensions which I am not drawing yet, so we bought the UK property in my name only - had we bought it in joint names, the rental income would have increased my husband's tax liability, whilst not enabling me to use all my personal tax allowance.  So without sharing the details of our savings and investments, you can see how even property ownership alone can be organised in such a way that is more tax efficient.  This also demonstrates how individual tax circumstances can vary how you deal with your tax affairs and probably won't be as simple as the "conflicting advice" you've read.  In fact, I'd suggest the reason you're seeing conflicting advice is because the circumstances are probably not the same - I'd be happy to take a look at the information you've read, if you can send me the links.

The fact that you're even asking this question suggests to me that you're a very sensible bunny!  HMRC may suggest you contact a specialist tax advisor - and if your UK tax affairs are complex, I'd recommend this too.

Kind regards,

Kim