Using a company to purchase property overseas after the 2007 Budget

Anyone purchasing overseas property, particularly as an investment (and there are a lot!) would be likely to consider the structure of the ownership. In particular whether the purchase should be in their name or via some other entity such as an offshore company. I've noticed that for many people there is a degree of mystery surrounding offshore companies, and there's a feeling they can be used to eliminate or at least substantially reduce UK tax charges in all circumstances. Well, this is not quite the case... There are certainly scenarios where offshore companies can be attractive in tax terms but they're not as widespread as many people think. In fact, a lot of people could achieve tax efficiency by simply purchasing in their own names. Whilst this isn't as 'stylish' as using an offshore company in terms of your bottom line it can be very attractive. We've published a report that looks at the tax treatment of offshore companies for purchasing overseas property, and goes through exactly when you can and can't obtain UK tax benefits by using a company. As always, the downloaded report is free to members. You can access the report here Buying overseas property through an offshore company after the 2007 Budget