I’ve got two rentals that are solely in my name. I want them to be, like the others, split between me and the wife to lower my income for tax. ls this transfer of equity simply something I can do myself with an AP1 form?
Oh… I should add that neither property has a mortgage and they’re valued at 79K and 60K each.
I think you may need a solicitor for this if your wife doesn’t currently own any of the property and it may be classed as a disposal and subject to capital gains tax. I know that where properties are jointly owned as tenants in common, a deed of trust can be drawn up to vary the percentage of the beneficial interest and form 17 can then be used to register this with HMRC. However, I don’t think that applies in your case. Do check though as I’m no expert on this.
So apparently it’ll cost in the region of £600 per property to get a conveyancer to do this, hence my queries as to whether we can do this ourselves.
HMRC say
If you and your spouse or civil partner are living together, any transfer of an asset between you is treated as giving rise to neither a gain nor a loss to the person transferring it.
Yes, youre right about the CGT between sposes. Id forgotten that.
Personally, I would keep it in your sole name, if, in the unlikely event of a divorce, she would make claims on them.
You could always have her on the “payroll”, say, as your “lettings manager”. I do with my partner! My accountant suggested it to me, after I initially heard it at an NLA/RLA taxation course, or seminar, from a top, tax expert, called Carl.
that made me chuckle… seriously mate, in the event of a divorce, she would have a perfect right to a claim on them and I would be perfectly happy to give her her due.
I know this. I’ve done it before. 
The default position for income tax , CGT , divorce settlements etc is that that married coupled have 50% ownership of property no matter who’s name it is in. You need to prove why such a division of property would be unjust (eg a short marriage n which one partner brough most of the assets) but whose name it is in is often not decisive in such matters where partners are married . For income and capital gains tax purposes you usually have to split 50 /50 where you are married.- but can sometimes transfer unused allowances if only one person is earning etc.
Do you have a link to something official you can DM me for that? I assumed that whoever owns the property (i.e. is listed on the deeds) is liable for tax on the income.