Are there legitimate ways to avoid capital gains tax? | Money | guardian.co.uk

Are there legitimate ways to avoid capital gains tax? | Money | guardian.co.uk

Q My wife and I are purchasing a buy-to-let property. I am a higher rate taxpayer while my wife does not work, and thus has unused income tax allowances.

This property will be my wife's project, so we thought of buying it in her name only with all income tax payable at her tax rate. However, we are conscious that that would mean we could only use one capital gains tax (CGT) allowance when we come to selling it. With that in mind it seems to make more sense to own the flat in both our names.

Is there a tax-efficient way we could achieve both goals, paying at a lower tax rate and using both CGT allowances when the time comes to sell? I wonder if my wife could gift me half of it at a later date, thus allowing us to use both CGT allowances when we sell it?

A Yes it is possible – and within the tax rules – ...........