Gift letter from a partner

wanderer 22

Hi everyone,

Hoping someone can help/advise. My partner and I both have savings but for various reasons I will be applying for a mortgage on my own. Can my partner gift me her savings that I can then use as part of the deposit?

Thanks in advance!

houseyhouse

My understanding is that if your partner is living in the house with you, the bank usually wants you both on the mortgage. The reason is that your partner will have a legal right to live in the house. Open to correction on that though.

On the gift letter, it would require your partner to sign a piece of paper saying they have no legal rights to the house as a result of gifting you the money. In other words that they are gifting you the money without strings. Would your partner be happy to do that? Given that they would have rights to the house by virtue of living there as your partner, you can see why it all gets a bit iffy from the bank’s perspective.

Editing to add: if you’re not married, your partner Is a stranger to you in law as regards gift/inheritance tax so you could have a tax bill if the gift is more than 16k I think.

wanderer 22

Thanks for the reply, not particularly straightforward then! It may be easier to go down the gift from family member route..

mrslancaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118902241#Comment_118902241

32.5k from sibling or grandparent. Or any family member or friend can gift you 3k each pa. Know someone who got a few money gifts in december and then the same in january to make up their deposit. All into a savings account, no gift tax.

wanderer 22

Great, very helpful both!