Making family member a shareholder in existing co?

[nucastle]

Just wondering what the legalities might be with taking my ltd co where i own all the shares, so that i can split ownership of it between say myself and my mother?

Is it as simple as 'gifting' half my shares to my mother, or do i have to go through some kind of official process?

[Sockpuppet]

Get her to pay you a £1 for each share you give her.

[TheFaQQer]

You need to talk to an accountant about how the company needs to value the shares that you then need to sell / grant to the other person / people.

[nucastle]

I would have thought as an individual shareholder, i could value these myself if was gifting my own share of the company no?

Not got an accountant at the moment, so wondered if anyone had done this before......

[Gonzo]

I would have thought as an individual shareholder, i could value these myself if was gifting my own share of the company no?

Not got an accountant at the moment, so wondered if anyone had done this before......

You need professional advice, not ours.

All I will add is that it is more complicated than you think.

For example, even if you "gift" the shares, this may still be treated as a disposal for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes. A value will have to be worked out and tax paid on it (possibly). If you have been trading (and invoicing) already then that value is going to be more than £1.

There may be a host of other considerations that don't spring to my mind, but then, I am not the professional in this field. You need to speak to someone who is.

[nucastle]

Good points there .... thanks for that! Looks like ill need a bit more official advice on the matter.

[Crossroads]

Just wondering what the legalities might be with taking my ltd co where i own all the shares, so that i can split ownership of it between say myself and my mother?

Is it as simple as 'gifting' half my shares to my mother, or do i have to go through some kind of official process?

The other question is...WHY? Is there a genuine business reason for doing this? What do you hope to achieve?

[nucastle]

Tax efficiency when it comes to dividends and the like .... Usual story

[TheFaQQer]

Tax efficiency when it comes to dividends and the like .... Usual story

Wouldn't this fall fouls of S660?

Not sure myself, but I thought that there was something to stop you giving away solely to avoid your tax burden. Could be wrong though.

[nucastle]

Yeah i can see how that might be the case, although im trying to run my Ltd as much like a 'consultancy' than a one man contracting band as much as possible to get away from this ..... very short term contracts, multiple simultaneous income streams, on site and off site work etc etc.

Still something to think about for sure.