Tax implications on buying out original partners from French property

[paulsm]

Hello

I hope someone can help.

About 4 years ago me and my wife brought a house in France with another couple. Since the purchase of the property, it has nearly doubled in value.

The couple we bought with now wish to sell, they are willing to sell it to us at the original purchase price, as they no longer want anything to do with the property.

The question is, will we be liable for any additional tax as we are not paying the full market value of the property?

Regards

 

Paul

 

 

[PeterG]

Paul,

I think this would be a transfer of title, changing the property into your names only. Any financial settlement between you and your co purchasers is between yourselves. No doubt someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[BJSLIV]

The authorities can assess the notaires charges (ie the taxes) based on the actual value of the property rather than the notional value you agree with your friends.

Unless the house is your main residence you will also asume the liablility for tax on  the gains for the whole property, which will still be cheaper than paying for the full gains[:)]

[Pickles]

I'd advise taking legal advice on this course of action. Depending on how your ownership of the property was originally set up, I don't think that there is such a thing as a "simple transfer" - although I am quite prepared to be corrected. Hence, the transaction may be in effect a sale by all 4 of you to 2 of you.  In such a case, there is a danger that if it were to become apparent to the local authorities that the transaction was going through for a value rather lower than the property is worth, then the local authority may exercise a right of pre-emption to purchase the property at the same price ...

Regards

Pickles

[hoverfrog]

it has to be done as a sale, by a notaire. There is no such thing as a transfer of title.

If the value has visibly increased it will have to be done at the new value. If you can argue that the value hasn't increased then you can do it at the original value - the notaire will tell you more. I'm not sure how much leeway the notaire has on this - mine is doing the 'sale' of half of my house at the original price, but then he has a reputation for bending the rules a bit :)

The taxes you pay are related to the value of the 'sale', even if no money changes hands.

[phylisbide]

Hi

There will be the costs of selling (all four to the two of you) and purchase costs (your end of it) This will be paid to the notiare with other costs automatically. CGT (Plus value) will be calculated by the notaire - having deducted any invoices paid to registered artisans only (incl materials if purchased a part of those invoices only) I am not sure if the notaire would comment on the price of the property - he is not going to come out to look to see what work has been effected - and a price is only what can be achieved on the open market - which has not been tested. In our case, the notaire shrugged at the value we had agreed with our friends as a reasonable figure.

Good luck with the whole transaction - a year on and sadly we rarely see the friends we used to own in France with - hope you don't have the same problems.

Phylis