I have a client who has two properties, and we have a year left to make a main residence election - do we just write to HMRC informing them of the property that they deem to be their main residence - and if they wish to change then they can just write again. Is there anything else I should be considering/thinking of/be aware of? Thank you in advance for any advice or comments.
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It is not enough to own 2 properties.
They must both bew residences. Establish the facts first.
No specific format
Once you've established that the client can make an election (see Phil's comment above), there;s no set format. I tend to say something along the lines of "Please treat this as an election under s222(5) TCGA 1992 that my main residence is x with effect from date"
You won't get the Revenue to agree it - they'll just acknowledge it and get it out and dust it off when it becomes relevant to a disposal.
I also find that, if the election isn't in respect of the factual main residence, its helpful to say "Please continue to send correspondence to [address]. " In the past, I have seen the Revenue change the correpsondence address to the elected property, which makes the security questions fun when you ring them.
Don't forget that if the taxpayer is married/in a CP, their spouse/CP also has to sign the election, even if they don't own a share in the property.
As above
if they are both residences then the client will need to elect within two years of having two relevant residences to have the ability to be able to vary the election at a later date.
If married / in a civil partnership then it will have to be a joint election.
You do not write, the client needs to formally elect.