Implications on buying a house?

My UKC husband has a house here that he will sell. I have cash from a home that I sold in the US in 2016. Is there any sort of US or UK tax implication for wiring funds from the US to help purchase a home here in the UK? Also, is there any implication for putting my and my husband’s name both on the deed? We will not have a mortgage however. Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My UKC husband has a house here that he will sell. I have cash from a home that I sold in the US in 2016. Is there any sort of US or UK tax implication for wiring funds from the US to help purchase a home here in the UK? Also, is there any implication for putting my and my husband’s name both on the deed? We will not have a mortgage however. Thanks!

I substantially contributed to the purchase of our house, and we did not put my name on the deed.  Moving the US funds over won't incur any sort of tax (the currency conversion will cost you a small bit... less than 1% if you use Transferwise, but you can see how much the transaction will result in before you make the move, so you can shop around and see if you can find a better deal with anybody else).  However, being on the deed will open you up to capital gains tax from the US.  I'm not sure how it works, as we left my name out of it, but from what I've heard in passing, it can be quite aggressive.

As you won't have a mortgage, the only US tax implication will be when you sell.  It's up to you to determine if due to that you want to leave your name off of the deed or not.  We try to keep my name off as much as possible.  I literally have all my eggs in my husband's basket.   

As you won't have a mortgage, the only US tax implication will be when you sell.  It's up to you to determine if due to that you want to leave your name off of the deed or not.  We try to keep my name off as much as possible.  I literally have all my eggs in my husband's basket.   

Same.  We don't have any joint accounts, my husband owns nearly everything, and I'm just along for the ride.

As you won't have a mortgage, the only US tax implication will be when you sell.  It's up to you to determine if due to that you want to leave your name off of the deed or not.  We try to keep my name off as much as possible.  I literally have all my eggs in my husband's basket.   

Thanks for the input! I hate to think that anything would ever go wrong and planned to be married to my hubby forever... but, I also kind of know how life can throw in some unexpected twists and turns. I'd like to hope my interests would be protected if you know what I mean. But I definitely don't want to take a hit when it comes to US taxes because dealing with the IRS on anything is pretty much the worst nightmare of them all. It's all so odd in these circumstances of navigating life in another country.

I substantially contributed to the purchase of our house, and we did not put my name on the deed.  Moving the US funds over won't incur any sort of tax (the currency conversion will cost you a small bit... less than 1% if you use Transferwise, but you can see how much the transaction will result in before you make the move, so you can shop around and see if you can find a better deal with anybody else).  However, being on the deed will open you up to capital gains tax from the US.  I'm not sure how it works, as we left my name out of it, but from what I've heard in passing, it can be quite aggressive.

Thanks for your input! Ok, I'll definitely look into Transferwise. Obviously want the best rate I can get as far as the currency exchange goes. I think with capital gains you only get taxed if you earn over $250000 on the sale of a property. I think that's what I recall from the sale of my house in the US...But yeah, I'll follow up with my accountant for that one just to be sure.

I've been burned in a marriage before - so completely understand hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

We did check that in the event of a divorce, I would be entitled to half of the houses.  Sucks to have to look into all of that, but UK divorce law is on your side that things are split 50/50. 

I've been burned in a marriage before - so completely understand hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

We did check that in the event of a divorce, I would be entitled to half of the houses.  Sucks to have to look into all of that, but UK divorce law is on your side that things are split 50/50.

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for understanding. It's that thing we don't want to talk about but it's the thing we SHOULD talk about. Know what I mean? Like, my husband and I have discussed how we would handle things if we did end up at that point and I think we're both pretty reasonable about it. But it is also good to know I'd be covered legally in this country as well. I've been previously married as well but thankfully my ex is a good guy and we found a happy medium without having to go to battle. Still, it's not an easy thing even when it's amicable.

I've been burned in a marriage before - so completely understand hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

We did check that in the event of a divorce, I would be entitled to half of the houses.  Sucks to have to look into all of that, but UK divorce law is on your side that things are split 50/50.

I believe that is also the case in accounts owned by one spouse and not the other which is why , for US tax issues, I would also try to keep the USC’s name off the house deed and joint savings and investments accounts.

I can also confirm that we had no tax implications at all moving over our house money from the US to the UK a couple of years ago.

Thanks for the input! I hate to think that anything would ever go wrong and planned to be married to my hubby forever... but, I also kind of know how life can throw in some unexpected twists and turns. I'd like to hope my interests would be protected if you know what I mean. But I definitely don't want to take a hit when it comes to US taxes because dealing with the IRS on anything is pretty much the worst nightmare of them all. It's all so odd in these circumstances of navigating life in another country.

Thanks for your input! Ok, I'll definitely look into Transferwise. Obviously want the best rate I can get as far as the currency exchange goes. I think with capital gains you only get taxed if you earn over $250000 on the sale of a property. I think that's what I recall from the sale of my house in the US...But yeah, I'll follow up with my accountant for that one just to be sure.

Be aware that capital gains is applied on the change in value of the house in dollars.  So if you buy the house while the pound is weak (as it is right now), then you sell it when the pound is strong (as it could maybe one day be again, after all this Brexit chaos is behind us), even if the house doesn't appreciate much in GBP, it will appear to have appreciated in USD, and you will be hit with the capital gains on that, if it's high enough.

Ok, I'll definitely look into Transferwise. Obviously want the best rate I can get as far as the currency exchange goes

While Transferwise is definitely the best for smallish amounts. If moving a large amount of money, I would look around first,  just to make sure you get the very best deal.

We will not have a mortgage however.

You'll avoid one potential pitfall by not having a mortgage. As jfkimberly mentioned above, a substantial currency swing in one direction can create 'artificial' capital gains on the sale of the property, but a substantial currency swing in the other direction can result in an artificial gain (taxable in the US) on the amount repaid on the mortgage.

If you rent the house then sell it without living in it 2 years pout of the previous 5 you loose the 250K deduction (per person) and you can't 1031 the proceeds as it's not in the US.

A