Shares are a gift that, with a little luck and long-term commitment, keep on giving. Financially-minded aunts, uncles, cousins and friends are choosing to buy shares for children more often these days, but share ownership may be a tricky issue for parents and minors.

Ms S has two children aged 18 and 21. When they were very young, a relative purchased shares for the children but placed them in the parents' names. Earnings over the years have been small, ranging from £10 to £100 a year, but the income has never been declared to Revenue, says Ms S. "Now that the children are adults, what would be the correct procedure of having the names on the shares changed into the children's names and paying any income tax that might be due?" she asks.

BDO Simpson Xavier tax partner, Mr Eddie Doyle, says if the parents held the shares as nominees for the children, rather than through a trust arrangement, a transfer is relatively straightforward. In this situation, the children are the "beneficial" owners and have always been.

Therefore, from a tax perspective any dividends and income would belong to the children and should have been claimed on their income tax, he said.

Capital gains tax also follows the beneficial owner. "If they want to change the registration or legal ownership, that will require stamping by the Revenue authorities. If they produce a declaration of trust to Revenue saying that they have held the shares as nominees for the children, then I think the stamp duty will be small because it is a nominal transfer," says Mr Doyle.

The most practical way to proceed is to write to the Inspector of Taxes explaining the situation and providing figures. "The amount due should be minimal and if shares are in an Irish-quoted company they will have an underlying tax credit," he said.