Would you charge a partner interest?

[Mitsky]

Interested in views! I will be lending my husband money for a purchase related to a business he’s starting up. We’ve been through the business plan, I’ll be paid back in 3 months. I have no concerns about that at all.

However, I said to him in passing that I’d be an idiot not to benefit from this transaction and proposed that I’m paid a minimal amount of interest (far lower than a bank), which he was quite surprised by!

Am I being a money grabbing monster?

I think if it was a strangers business, yes.
Not your husband unless there's like a vat back scenario then yes.

My parents always charged me interest to borrow money usually what they were losing in interest by withdrawing it. My other half got a Loan for 10k for me to buy a car as he could get 2.8pc interest and I could only get 10pc. I paid the monthly installments, I'd have offered him interest had he took it out his savings but I don't think he would have charged me it. If you can afford it. Let him have it.

How would his business profiting NOT help the family pot??

I’m so glad we share our money, his and hers in a marriage seems dispiriting.

OP, I think you had it right, you aren’t charging him interest, you are charging the business interest. Most respondents are reacting like it is a personal loan instead of a business loan.

I personally wouldn’t charge my husband a interest, but quite a few years back my mum leant me 15k which took me a year to pay back, I added a few hundred extra to it, to make up for the loss of interest. She never asked for it though

Absolutely baffled by the concept of lending money to your own husband, let alone charging interest on it!

I can't get my head around married couples that don't share money.

@SapphireOpal

You need to stop thinking of him as the husband and instead think of it as 'the business'. Loads of people run businesses and it's really important to keep business finances separate from family. There are tax benefits as well as protections of personal assets.

Imagine that the business wants to borrow money from the bank to expand. The bank agrees to lend at a rate of 8% interest.

A family member who is earning 3% interest on savings suggest that instead they will loan the money to the business at a repayment rate of 4% interest. This benefits both the family member and the business.

So it's not always a bad thing. It really depends on OPs circumstances and the reason for borrowing but often it makes absolute financial sense.

Absolutely if you are lending money to the business for set-up costs, it is appropriate to charge some interest which will be tax deductable to the business (appropriately - I wouldn't call this a "tax dodge"). Be aware though that the interest you receive from this is taxable income for you too - so if you are totalling interest above the allowance you will have to declare it on your own personal tax return. Still potentially worthwhile if you don't mind the admin.