Philippines Expat Forum

sundance8
Joined 2020
Posts: 63

1 year ago

Buying land for Pinay GF - tax implications for her?

1 year ago

Good Morning Gents,

I'm considering buying land, or perhaps a house & land, for my long-term Pinay GF and her family.

I'll likely marry her in the future, when the time is right.

I realize that's incredibly risky, in that if we split up, she'll own the lot. But we've been together for many years, and I love her, so it's a risk I may be prepared to take.

To be honest, I feel the greater risk comes from the ex-wife, with whom I have children. Even though I gave her a vast amount of my hard-earned lifetime savings when we divorced, and I continue to provide her with regular child support for my kids (in that regard, I'm happy to do it - naturally I love my kids, and am proud of them) ... she's blowing through all the money I gave her upon divorce at a rate of knots, like a drunken sailor.

I've heard some instances where an ex-wife chances their arm at dragging you through the courts - particularly when you have kids with her - for a greedy "second bite of the cherry".

That's once the ex-wife becomes jealous and resentful at what you've managed to financially accomplish on your own, after you divorced her - and when she jealously knows your Pinay GF shall share that with you. Then, the ex-wife compares that to her own squandered wealth. Even though she irresponsibly frittered away the fortune you gave her upon divorce - she won't blame herself for that - the ex-husband gets blamed for all.

With those concerns in mind - anything I buy in the Philippines for my Pinay GF shall remain in her name. It'll be safely out of reach of the ex-wife's clutches.

Having explained the background - let's get back to the topic of property purchase for my Pinay GF ...

From a Philippines tax perspective, there'll naturally be the standard taxes associated with property sale and purchase. That's all to be expected.

My question here - if I buy property for my Pinay GF, is it subject to gift tax (or any other tax) under Philippines law?

That is ... does the act of a foreigner supplying the funds for his Pinay GF to purchase property - by wiring the funds from overseas, to a Philippines bank account in her name - under Philippines law, would that attract any tax liability for her - such as gift tax, or any similar tax?

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