Documents for Business

In excess of 1,000 customisable documents covering every conceivable business issue.

Introduction to this document

Flow chart - taxation of income from jointly owned property

Where a jointly owned property is let, determining for tax purposes how much of the income, profits or losses each owner is responsible for is not always straightforward. It depends on the type of joint ownership, plus there are special rules where the joint owners are married or in a civil partnership.

Flow chart

The Flow Chart - Taxation of Income from Jointly Owned Property will help you work out how much income etc. for tax purposes each owner is responsible for.

Definitions for the flow chart:

  • Joint tenants - (in Scotland; joint owners with a survivorship clause) means each person owns the whole of the property and has a 100% stake in its value. In the eyes of the law, joint tenants act together as a single owner
  • Tenants in common - (in Scotland; joint owners), sometimes also referred to as an “undivided share” means that each owner has a separate share of the property. These shares don’t have to be equal size. For example, you might own 50% of the property while two other persons own 25% each. This type of joint ownership is typically used by friends or relatives who are buying together
  • Form 17 - this document must be used if you wish to notify HMRC that you and your spouse/civil partner, who own a property as tenants in common, want to be taxed on income etc. derived from the property in proportion to your ownership share. 

Form 17 can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/hy4zj64

or completed online at https://tinyurl.com/jhnwesz

Severing the tenancy

Where you own a property as joint tenants you can change to tenants in common by severing the joint tenancy. Where the other joint owner is your spouse/civil partner, Form 17 will allow you vary the share of the property you own and be taxed on your respective shares of income etc.

Documents

An Agreement to Sever Joint Tenancy and Deed of Trust for Property can be used in conjuction with the flow chart.