IHTM21043 - Household goods and personal goods: valuation and technical issues: joint property

In a situation where the household goods are jointly owned (and the related property provisions (IHTM09731) do not apply) the taxpayer may ask for a discount against the value of the deceased’s share. In these cases, you need to establish the nature and purpose of the joint ownership, together with details of any trust on which it is held. Ask the taxpayer or agent to state how the property was acquired and, if purchased, what proportion of the purchase price was provided by the deceased.

Although we allow a discount as a matter of course for jointly owned land, we do not do this automatically for jointly owned chattels. This is because any discount is to reflect problems with disposing of less than a full share and, for chattels, the circumstances in which a sale could be obtained may vary. Once you have established the facts, you need to consider, with the help of Technical or Shares and Assets Valuation if necessary, whether the discount should be allowed as claimed.