Selling property and capital gains tax

£3,000 for individuals and £1,500 for most trusts. It is set against your total gains for the tax year after losses, and any unused amount is lost: it can't be carried forward. Spouses and civil partners each have their own, which is why rebalancing ownership before a sale can help. It is small compared with typical buy-to-let gains, so timing and other reliefs usually matter more.

Trustees and personal representatives pay capital gains tax at 24% on residential property and other assets for 2026/27, with no 18% band. Most trusts have an annual exempt amount of £1,500, half the individual figure. A trust selling a let property must also report within 60 days of completion if there is tax to pay, in the same way as an individual.

No. Each person's £3,000 annual exempt amount is personal and can't be transferred. What spouses and civil partners living together can do is move assets between them at no gain, no loss, so that both own part of the property and each uses their own exempt amount and basic rate band on a sale. The transfer must be genuine, and made before exchange.

Yes. Non-UK residents have been taxed on gains on UK residential property since April 2015, and on other UK land and property since April 2019. Rebasing to April 2015 or April 2019 values may be available, so only later growth is taxed. Every disposal must be reported within 60 days of completion, even where there is no gain or a loss.

No. Capital gains tax is the same across the UK, so a Scottish landlord pays 18% or 24% on a residential property gain, like a landlord in England. The basic rate band used for the 18% rate is the UK band, not the Scottish income tax bands. Land taxes on purchase do differ, with LBTT in Scotland and Land Transaction Tax in Wales.

No. If the sale price, less selling costs, is below your purchase price plus buying costs and improvements, you have a capital loss, not a gain. Claim the loss on your Self Assessment return within four years of the end of the tax year. It can be set against other gains in the same year, or carried forward against future gains.

The final nine months of ownership of a home that was your main residence at some point always qualify for private residence relief, or 36 months in some cases for disabled people or those moving into care. If you sell within nine months of moving out, the gain is usually fully covered. After that, the gain is apportioned, and the period after moving out is taxable unless another relief applies.

No. Starting to let your home isn't a disposal, so there's no tax at that point. Capital gains tax arises only when you sell or give the property away. At that point, private residence relief covers the period you lived there plus the final nine months of ownership, and the rest of the gain is taxable, with the period of letting usually counting against you.

Transfers between spouses or civil partners are no gain, no loss while they live together. For separations after 6 April 2023, that treatment continues until the end of the third tax year after the year they stopped living together, or until the divorce or dissolution if earlier. Transfers made under a formal divorce agreement or court order remain no gain, no loss without that time limit.

Yes, if you have more than one residence. You can nominate which one is your main residence for private residence relief by notifying HMRC within two years of acquiring a new combination of residences. A property you have never lived in as a residence can't be nominated. The choice matters if you divide your time between homes, so take advice before the two-year window closes.

Selling part, such as a share of a property or a piece of land, is a part disposal. Only a proportion of your original cost is deducted, based on the value of the part sold compared with the value of the part kept. The rules can be complex where the property is later sold in stages, so get the valuation and computation right at the first sale.