Transfer of equity: adding or removing someone from your property

It's a legal transfer of all or part of a property from one owner, or set of owners, to another. The owners on the register change, but the property doesn't go on the market. Common reasons are adding a new partner, taking a former partner off the title, or putting the home into one person's name.

In England and Wales, the transfer deed is usually HM Land Registry's form TR1, for the whole of a registered title. The application to change the register goes on form AP1, with a certificate of identity for anyone applying without a conveyancer, and the fee. GOV.UK says you can apply yourself, but it warns that land registration is complex and mistakes can have significant consequences.

Decide how you'll own the home. As joint tenants, the whole property passes automatically to the survivor. As tenants in common, each of you owns a share that you can leave in your will. If you've put in different amounts, a declaration of trust can record who owns what.

Yes, if there's a mortgage. Expect the lender to assess anyone joining the mortgage, or to check that the person staying can afford it alone. The transfer often happens alongside a new mortgage deal with the same lender or a remortgage to a new one; see our remortgage guide.

What the lender agrees matters for tax too. HMRC treats a person as taking on debt when the other borrower is released from the mortgage, or when they agree to indemnify the other borrower. That's what makes the mortgage share count as payment for Stamp Duty.

Stamp Duty Land Tax is due when the person receiving a share gives 'chargeable consideration' above the threshold. That includes any cash they pay and the share of the mortgage they take on. HMRC treats someone who becomes an equal joint owner as taking on 50% of the outstanding debt, whatever their legal liability to the lender. Someone going from a 30% share to sole owner takes on 70%.

GOV.UK's worked examples date from October 2022, when the nil-rate band was £250,000. The table gives the official figures, then what the same transfers would cost at the rates in force since 1 April 2025 (our calculation), including in Wales and Scotland.

Worked example at current rates: a home in England is worth £700,000 with £600,000 left on the mortgage. The owner adds their new spouse as an equal owner. The spouse is treated as taking on £300,000 of the mortgage, so SDLT is £5,000: nothing on the first £125,000, 2% of the next £125,000 (£2,500) and 5% of the last £50,000 (£2,500). The return and payment are due within 14 days of the transfer.

Higher rates can apply if the person receiving the share owns another home. On the same £300,000 they would bring the bill to £20,000 (our calculation). They don't apply when you transfer a share to your spouse or civil partner and no one else is involved. They also don't apply when you increase your share of your own home, as long as you already own at least 25% and it has been your only or main home for the previous 3 years.

Divorce, dissolution, annulment or legal separation: a transfer between the couple under an agreement or court order pays no SDLT and needs no return, whatever the value. This doesn't cover unmarried couples who split up. They pay SDLT on any cash and mortgage share above the threshold in the usual way.

Gifts: if you take a bigger share without paying anything and without taking on any mortgage, there's no chargeable consideration. No SDLT is due and you don't need to tell HMRC. Property left to you in a will is also free of SDLT, even if you take on the mortgage, as long as you give nothing else in return.

Below the threshold: if the consideration is £125,000 or less at standard rates, there's no tax to pay, but GOV.UK's £90,000 example shows you must still send a return. Wales and Scotland also exempt transfers on divorce. The Welsh Revenue Authority says no return or tax is needed when property is transferred due to divorce or the dissolution of a civil partnership. Scotland's LBTT law exempts transfers between spouses or civil partners made under a court order or agreement about divorce, dissolution or judicial separation.

In Wales, Land Transaction Tax works the same way: taking on a mortgage counts as payment. The Welsh Revenue Authority treats someone who becomes an equal joint owner as giving 50% of the outstanding debt. There's no LTT at main rates on consideration of £225,000 or less. The WRA warns that transfers of equity can be charged at the higher rates if the person joining owns other property. If any of the buyers is caught, the whole transaction is. At higher rates, £300,000 of consideration would cost £19,950 instead of £4,500 (our calculation). The return and payment are due within 30 days.

In Scotland, LBTT is charged on the mortgage share plus any cash. In Revenue Scotland's example, one partner takes over the other's half of a £320,000 mortgage and pays no cash, so the consideration is £160,000. At current bands that's £300 LBTT: 2% of the £15,000 above £145,000 (our calculation). The Additional Dwelling Supplement doesn't apply in that example because the partner already owned a share of the home. The LBTT return is due within 30 days.

A transfer that isn't for money pays a Scale 2 fee. That includes a gift of a share, even where the person receiving it takes on part of the mortgage. The fee is based on the value of the share transferred, after deducting any mortgage that stays in place or is registered at the same time. A new mortgage lodged with the transfer doesn't pay a separate fee. If the new owner pays cash for the share, Scale 1 applies to the amount paid instead. A transfer made under a divorce court order is charged on Scale 2, even when the court orders a payment.

Example: in the worked example above, the home is worth £700,000 and £600,000 of mortgage stays in place. The half share is worth (£700,000 − £600,000) ÷ 2 = £50,000, so the fee is £20 online or £45 by post. There's no official data on conveyancers' charges for a transfer of equity, so get written quotes and check whether they include the lender's legal work.

Usually not between spouses or civil partners who live together. The transfer counts as 'no gain, no loss', and the person receiving the share takes over the original cost. Since 6 April 2023, separating couples keep this treatment until the end of the third tax year after the tax year they stopped living together. If the transfer is part of a formal divorce agreement or court order, there's no time limit.

Between anyone else, a transfer is a disposal, and a gift is valued at market value. GOV.UK says you usually don't pay tax when you transfer or sell your main home. But transferring a share of a buy-to-let, a second home or a home you've let out can create a Capital Gains Tax bill. Read GOV.UK's Capital Gains Tax guidance or ask a tax adviser.

Consider separate advice whenever a transfer changes someone's rights in a way they might not fully understand: for example, someone giving up their share or their home on separation, someone taking on a mortgage for a home they won't fully own, or one owner putting in much more money than the other.

One conveyancer can often act for everyone on a straightforward transfer. But the SRA Code of Conduct stops a solicitor acting where clients' interests conflict, except in narrow cases with everyone's informed consent in writing. For relationship breakdowns, GOV.UK's guide to money and property when you divorce or separate explains the options. A court order or formal agreement is also what brings in the Stamp Duty exemption. Our guide to choosing a conveyancer covers regulators and complaints.