Date updated: Thursday 28th February 2013

If you own a let property jointly with your spouse or registered civil partner, you should assess whether the proportion of income declared in your tax returns could be altered to maximise your respective marginal rates for income tax.

If this is the case then you should, with advice, agree the terms of a declaration of property trust which records the revised interests in the equity in the property and complete and send form 17 to HMRC which will acknowledge that the proportion of the net income arising follows the proportion of the equity declared.

Care needs to be taken if there is a mortgage as, depending on the redemption figure, stamp duty may be payable.

Lastly, the change in equity will prompt a review of both parties’  Wills.