IHT/CGT - Gift flat to son

[anjo56]

Hi all
We never sold our flat when we moved, wishing to keep it to gift to our son or sell to fund a deposit/purchase of a home for him when the time came. We are in late 50s and hoping to retire in the next 5 years so are thinking of IHT/CGT planning. Can we gift him the flat outright, assuming we survive the gift-date by 7 years? What are the IHT/CGT consequences for us/him? We are looking at this as an option because we bought the flat for £26k in 1982 (and lived there till 2001) and it is now worth c £475k and we presume we could have a horrible tax bill of some sort down the line. Like others of our age, we hit a lucky break in the property market and feel duty-bound to transfer our good luck to the next generation. Despite this good fortune, we are not wealthy with lots of options open to us so any thoughts on how to make the most of this would be most welcome. Many thanks in advance.

[Thompsons]

If you gift the flat to your son you will pay capital gains tax on the difference between the market value at the date of gift and acquisition price.
You will get PPR for the period you lived there plus the last three years. Are you renting out the property by any chance.
There will be immediate charge to IHT, and provided you live for another 7 years there will be no IHT on your death.
To avoid CGT, you could give him part share this year, and part share in following years.
You should go to see a solicitor or tax advisor who specialises in IHT planning.