{"id":1053,"date":"2023-12-21T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctt-group.co.uk\/tax-trust\/?p=1053"},"modified":"2023-12-04T16:16:17","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T16:16:17","slug":"ctts-trust-of-land-the-secret-weapon-to-saving-your-clients-tax-millions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctt-group.co.uk\/tax-trust\/ctts-trust-of-land-the-secret-weapon-to-saving-your-clients-tax-millions\/","title":{"rendered":"CTT\u2019s Trust of Land \u2013 the secret weapon to saving your clients tax millions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cOh, we\u2019ve got to be talking millions!\u201d says Spencer Tattam, CTT\u2019s Technical Director. \u201cIf this one instance in Brighton saved the family from a \u00a3134,000 tax bill, then over the last 15 years, we must have saved millions in tax for our members\u2019 clients.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s talking about CTT\u2019s Trust of Land, another ingenious bit of collaborative drafting from the group\u2019s estate planning and financial advisory teams. This particular trust, unique to CTT, tackles the sticky issue of Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax on secondary properties. And it\u2019s the secret weapon many advisers \u2013 and their clients \u2013 are searching for.<\/p>\n

Oldie but a goodie<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Trust of Land relies on a single piece of legal statute \u2013 the Law of Property Act 1925. It\u2019s nearly 100 years old, but that doesn\u2019t stop it being an effective tool for a cutting-edge tax-savings trust.<\/p>\n

The Law of Property Act 1925, Section 53 1b stipulates that a person can establish a trust relating to land verbally. However, the trust must be formalised in writing before the next event, such as a sale or transfer. The Trust of Land is a retrospective piece of drafting that acknowledges the date of the original verbal agreement at commencement of the trust.<\/p>\n

\u201cVerbal trusts are perfectly valid under England and Wales law. But with land, it\u2019s not valid in terms of tax law until it\u2019s evidenced in writing. That\u2019s what a Trust of Land is. It evidences a historical verbal agreement that\u2019s already in place before the trust is drafted,\u201d explains Spencer. \u201cIt\u2019s not loophole planning,\u201d he asserts, \u201cbut some people believe it to be such. That\u2019s why so few companies offer this type of trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

Applying Trust of Land<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are various scenarios where a Trust of Land could save clients hundreds of thousands of pounds in tax.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Brighton example I mentioned, mum and dad owned a house in Warwickshire,\u201d Spencer recalls. \u201cThey\u2019d bought a second property in their names in Brighton for their son to live in while he was studying down there. Over the period they\u2019d owned it, the property had gone from \u00a3250k to \u00a3750k, which could have landed them with a huge tax bill when it came time to sell it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in buying the house for the benefit of their son, they\u2019d already created a verbal trust when they made the purchase. There was already a trustee\/beneficiary relationship in place there. As the son never paid any rent, and mum and dad never had use of the property themselves, they\u2019d effectively held it as an asset in trust for their son. All they had to do was put the arrangement in writing with a Trust of Land.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they sold the place in Brighton, the Trust of Land allowed them as trustees to claim it as their son\u2019s main residence, because he\u2019d lived in the trust property. And everything they\u2019d gained during that time was treated as if it was his, so the \u00a3500,000 profit was tax free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Useful in deed \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another instance where Trust of Land can be useful is when clients have put their children on the deeds to their property. As Spencer explains:<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople do this because they\u2019re advised it\u2019s good for Inheritance Tax \u2013 which it\u2019s not. And it\u2019s good for protecting the house from care \u2013 which it isn\u2019t. Mum and dad might have put their kids on the deeds to their home 15 years ago or more, but when it comes time to sell it, there will be tax to pay on the kids\u2019 share of the profit if the kids aren\u2019t living there anymore, because it\u2019s not their main residence.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this instance, the Trust of Land can be drawn up naming the children as trustees, who have in effect been holding their share of the property in trust for their parents. This retrospective planning negates any tax liability as the parents are seen as beneficiaries of the children’s share of the property, having occupied the entirety of the property, rent-free, with no immediate benefit to the children.<\/p>\n

How it works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The law of England is based on a common law system, which recognises there can be separate legal and beneficial interests. While one person can be the official owner of an asset, another person can have the value or benefit from that asset.<\/p>\n

If the property is being let out and the tenant is paying the full market value of the rental on that property, then there is no trust, because there’s no relationship between the owner and the occupier. A Trust of Land can only be applied where there is a historical verbal agreement between the owner and the beneficiary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want this trust to work, you have to have a clear diary of ownership and a diary of occupation and benefit,\u201d Spencer explains. \u201cIn terms of instruction taking from the client, we don\u2019t need to gather evidence to draw up a Trust of Land. We just base it on the facts they\u2019ve told us. But The caveat with this type of trust is always it\u2019s only as good as the facts provided by the client. If the facts are wrong, it could result in the tax savings being diminished or even completely removed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trustees of the trust will always be the owners of the property. It\u2019s their responsibility \u2013 or the survivor of them \u2013 to be able to confirm the facts are true if the trust is ever questioned,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In complex circumstances, where a property has had multiple beneficiaries at different times over the years or has had periods of being let out to non-beneficiaries, evidence is required to confirm the dates of these occupancies for tax purposes when drafting a Trust of Land.<\/p>\n

IHT benefits <\/strong><\/p>\n

Depending on the individual\u2019s circumstances, CTT\u2019s Trust of Land can also be useful for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe usual rule for IHT is that if you want to make a gift, you have to survive that gift by 7 years in order for it to clear your estate and not be subject to IHT when you die,\u201d Spencer explains.<\/p>\n

With the Trust of Land, in certain circumstances the property is deemed to have left the client\u2019s estate at the time of the original verbal agreement, which may pre-date the drafting of the trust by seven years or more. In this case, the property would no longer be considered part of their estate and would be outside the client\u2019s IHT calculation in event of their death, even if they pass away shortly after the Trust of Land is drafted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the one trust that is going to be deemed to have had assets put into it prior to the trust being drafted,\u201d says Spencer. \u201cIf the property was bought in 1984 and we drew up a trust today, the trust would be dated today, but it would start with the purchase in 1984. It would record what has happened with the house since that time, making its beneficiaries eligible for certain tax benefits when it\u2019s sold.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Brighton example, the couple bought the house in 2012. When they came to sell it in 2019, they\u2019d derived no benefit from it at all in that time. They\u2019d never lived there or claimed any rent. The only person to benefit from it was their son,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we were able to draft a Trust of Land that said they\u2019d given up all benefit to the property in everything but title back in 2012 when they bought it. The trust took the property out of their estate immediately for IHT purposes as soon as it was signed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very powerful, unique \u2013 and lucrative \u2013 product. As an adviser, you can almost go in there with a tax calculator and say, \u2018With this sale, you\u2019re liable for a tax bill of \u00a3134,000; I can do you a trust that will mean you will pay none.\u2019 It\u2019s exceptional circumstances, but it does happen!\u201d<\/p>\n

Trust of Land for advisers<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTT is well known for its innovative trusts and unconventional approaches to legislation; the Trust of Land is a prime example of this. The group\u2019s eclectic mix of financial and estate planning advisers means they have a wealth of expertise when approaching legislation for the purposes of creating a trust, as Spencer explains:<\/p>\n

\u201cI can remember exactly where the idea for the Trust of Land came from!\u201d he laughs, \u201cMyself, Clive, and Bob were studying for the STEP tax exam in 2008. There was a little section in STEP tax book about retrospective trusts. Whereas I just learned it parrot fashion, Clive and Bob saw an opportunity in that tiny paragraph and from there they created a product.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many advisers are astounded when they hear about the Trust of Land and the tax-saving opportunities they\u2019ve missed out on for clients before discovering it. The trust is especially popular and beneficial among those CTT members in accounting.<\/p>\n

\u201cNine times out of 10 when we present the Trust of Land to a new client adviser, they\u2019re amazed \u2013 and a bit suspicious perhaps, because they\u2019ve not heard of it before. Often when we do training days and webinars, attendees are gobsmacked it\u2019s even a thing!\u201d laughs Spencer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very popular product. We must have 30-40 enquiries a week. You don\u2019t come across circumstances where a Trust of Land won\u2019t fit the bill every day, but what it does makes it quite dramatic in its effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having been in place for nearly 100 years, it\u2019s unlikely the Law of Property Act will alter any time soon, meaning the Trust of Land is here to stay. And if legislation does change, no doubt the great minds at CTT will be inspired to create yet another revolutionary planning product to serve members and their clients.<\/p>\n

To find out more about CTT\u2019s Trust of Land and becoming a CTT member, <\/em>contact the CTT Partnership Team<\/em><\/a> today. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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