HMRC and Family Investment Companies

HMRC and Family Investment Companies

11:10 AM, 17th February 2023, About A year ago 9

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In 2022 there were over 50,000 property investment companies formed in the UK but less than 1% of them were Family Investment Companies. This is despite HMRC having given this form of business continuity and legacy planning the thumbs up in the previous year.

In this article and accompanying video we explain what the difference is between a Family Investment Company and an ‘off-the-shelf’ property investment company.

What is a Family Investment Company?

A Family Investment Company is a Limited Company comprising a more complex share structure to enable the founders of the business to allocate dividends more tax efficiently and to move growth in the value of the business outside their estate for inheritance tax planning purposes. Bespoke legal advice is required to draft shareholders agreements, amend the company articles of association and also to form and register a Discretionary Trust to hold shares in the company to which growth in value will accrue.

Whilst a standard Limited Company can be formed online for less than £20 a Family Investment Company structure typically costs £15,000 to £20,000. However, the tax savings associated with a Family Investment Company are immense and should therefore be the foundation of every landlord or property investor’s business model.

There are four reasons why over 99% of property investment businesses are set up badly, these are: –

  1. lack of knowledge of even the existence (never mind the benefits) of a Family Investment Company structure
  2. short-term thinking or short-sightedness
  3. penny wise pound foolish
  4. lack of awareness that HMRC have given these tax ‘planning’ structures the ‘thumbs-up’

70 years ago, who would have considered that properties would grow by 128 X in value?

Sadly, it is unlikely that many people reading this article today will be alive 70 years from now. However, their is a much better chance your legacy will live on through your family. Therefore, you might feel you have a moral obligation to your family to ensure that your legacy isn’t subjected to 40% inheritance tax each time it passes to the next generation.

 

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Comments

Rosanne Turvey

15:16 PM, 17th February 2023, About A year ago

I have just listened to the video and I have just one quick question before I seriously consider going down the Smart Company route - would I have to sell my properties to the Ltd Company and therefore have to pay Capital Gains tax or is one of the advantages of changing to the Ltd Company not having to pay Capital Gains.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

18:54 PM, 17th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Rosanne Turvey at 17/02/2023 - 15:16
Ordinarily yes, both CGT and SDLT would be payable, as would the cost of refinancing. However, in the right circumstances reliefs mitigate the tax completely and indemnifies can replace the need for refinancing.

Katy Ann

9:17 AM, 18th February 2023, About A year ago

What exactly do you mean by “HMRC has officially given them the thumbs up?” Is there some sort of published statement from HMRC (in which case could you provide a link)? Or does this just mean that HMRC have said on a particular case that there's nothing about the arrangement which breaches any particular bit of tax law?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

14:35 PM, 18th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Katy Ann at 18/02/2023 - 09:17
Yes there is an official statement which I have tried to find with a quick Google search for "HMRC close Family Investment Company Unit". Whilst I haven't quite found what I was looking for (yet) there are dozens of articles from highly credible news and media websites that reported this at the time.

So in answer to your question, NO, this was not a 'one-off' case. HMRC's unit spent two years looking into hundreds of cases and consulting with the legal and accountancy professions to arrive at their conclusion that the principles of FIC's for business continuity, legacy and tax planning were exactly that and did not stray into the realms of tax avoidance. That's why the unit was closed down, it was wasting the tax-payers money.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

14:39 PM, 18th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by MessiahOfBodmin at 18/02/2023 - 09:32
FIC's are not "schemes". That is what HMRC was looking into.

We agree that tax law can be changed at any time, and whilst it can be retroactive (e.g. as in Section 24) it cannot be retrospective, as proven by the 2015 changes in legislation regarding CGT on property owned by non-residents.

Oliver Rees

13:22 PM, 13th March 2024, About a month ago

The video says "unavailable this video is private"?

SimonP

17:30 PM, 13th March 2024, About a month ago

Reply to the comment left by Oliver Rees at 13/03/2024 - 13:22
Yep. Me too. Video unavailable
"This video is private"

Simon Clarke

19:44 PM, 18th March 2024, About a month ago

What is the cost of setting up a FIC from scratch with no properties to move into it, so its set up correctly from day one?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

20:19 PM, 19th March 2024, About a month ago

Reply to the comment left by Simon Clarke at 18/03/2024 - 19:44
Please see the linked article below, because an FIC is only part of the solution. The article explains in more detail together with indicative pricing.

https://www.property118.com/sic-code-68209-uk-rental-property-businesses-family-investment-company/

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