Do we pay capital gains tax to give away home?
QWE HAVE a second house and want to transfer ownership to our son who’s lived in it for 30 years. The property has increased in value, so would we be liable for any capital gains tax?
AIF YOU give away a property there are always tax implications. Ordinarily, you’ll find any gains over your annual capital gains tax allowance of £11,700 each will be subject to capital gains tax of 18% within the basic rate tax band or 28% for higher rate.
QMY WORKPLACE pension contributions are going up soon. Do I have the option to keep them at the current level? I’m struggling a bit to keep on top of all my bills at the moment.
AUNFORTUNATELY not. The new contribution levels of 5% employee and 3% employer are the minimum you can pay in to workplace pensions via automatic enrolment. If you really cannot afford to make higher contributions you can opt out and opt back in again when you are in better financial position. But this should be a last resort.
QIF I open a new ISA in April, am I able to transfer funds from my existing ISA into the new account if it’s a better rate? I’m new to the ISA world.
AYOU can transfer previous tax year ISA cash into a new one. Once transferred, in theory it’s one ISA account – but you can still put in up to the annual allowance of £20,000 for the new tax year.
QI HAVE a 0% balance transfer card that had a 0% purchase period. When I make future payments will it pay off the balance transfer, or the purchases which are now being charged 20% interest.
ACREDIT card firms must put repayments towards the most expensive debt first. Try to ensure you clear the whole balance before your 0% balance transfer period ends to avoid being hit with high interest charges.
QMY WIFE is a stay-athome mum. One of her friends, also a non-working mother says she has life and critical illness policies. I thought it was just the household earner who could take out these protection insurances? Is it something we should consider?
AABSOLUTELY. Should anything happen to your wife you need to consider how you and your children would cope. You may need to hire a nanny or pay for extra childcare costs – or you may wish to take a break from work to bring up your children yourself. A policy would give you cash and choices.