Cost of a declaration of trust Post Reply

[JamTart]

We are overseas and letting out our flat while we are away. For tax reasons we will nominate my husband as the sole receiver of the rent, but to do this we need to get a declaration of trust.

I have seen we can do this via an online template free of charge but the letting agent is not keen on this route and wants us to go to a solicitor. Would welcome any insights on how to do this and cost. Thank you.

[chorister]

If you are both going to benefit from the rent then why would you want to be dishonest about the position?

[SWtastic]

The irony of seeking a Declaration of Trust so that you can avoid paying tax!

[JamTart]

As it is a UK asset which generates income...
- tax will be due
- he will be paying tax in the UK (as opposed to placing it in a trust to avoid paying tax).

Without going into detail of our respective nationalities, residency and tax status we have discussed the situation with HMRC to ensure everything is done by the book. No secret wheeling and dealing, no unsavory accounting practices, no hiding of revenue, no off-shore accounts. If someone were tax-dodging they would be unlikely to broadcast it here.

[chorister]

In that case my apologies.

[ClaphamPkorNot]

It's perfectly legitimate tax planning!

Use Copilot, Chat GPT or Gemini and a bit of reading on the internet. Enough examples out there to not need a lawyer. I paid about £500 (too much) a few years ago to a non-London firm, and it was brief and v self explanatory.

[ClaphamPkorNot]

PS, a declaration of trust is between two people and it's of no concern to the letting agent how you do this as they're not a party to it.