Phenol based aryliodonium salts were prepared by the reaction of [hydroxy(tosyloxy)iodo]arenes with aryl silyl ethers in the presence of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid. Structures of several aryliodonium salts with the hydroxy group in the para-position of the phenyl ring were established by single crystal X-ray crystallography. Under basic conditions, 4-hydroxyphenyl(phenyl)iodonium salts form a dimeric hypervalent iodine(iii) complex, oxyphenyl(phenyl)iodonium ylidic salt, the solid structure of which was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Phenolic iodonium salts are potentially useful phenol transfer reagents in reactions with various anionic nucleophiles.