Can I gift my second home to my daughter who will then transfer ownership in two years’ time to her daughter who will then be 18?

Arthur Weller replies:
You can certainly gift your second home to your daughter, who can transfer it to your granddaughter in two years’ time. However, since it is your second home, it may not be eligible to some/any principal private residence relief, and so there may be some/a lot of capital gains tax for you to pay. When your daughter transfers in two years’ time she will be in a similar situation, except that her base cost will be today’s value (i.e. the market value of the property on the day it was gifted to her). Alternatively, you could gift the property to your granddaughter today. Although she is under 18, she can still be the beneficial owner of the property, but someone over 18 will have to be the legal owner.