Capital Gains Tax when you sell a property

You’re selling a buy-to-let, a second home or a property you inherited, or you’ve moved out of your old home and are selling it now. If you make a gain, there may be Capital Gains Tax to pay, and the deadline is much shorter than most people expect.

The 60-day deadline

If you sell a UK residential property and there’s Capital Gains Tax to pay, you must report the sale and pay the tax within 60 days of completion. It’s done through a Capital Gains Tax on UK property account on GOV.UK, not your normal tax return. If you can’t use the online service, you can report by post.

If you’re UK resident and there’s no tax to pay, for example because your gain is within your allowance or Private Residence Relief covers it, you don’t need to report it this way.

If you’re not UK resident, you must report every sale of UK property within 60 days, even if there’s no tax to pay.

If you sold with someone else, each owner reports their own share of the gain. If you report or pay late, you may be charged interest and a penalty.

Working out the gain

Your gain is roughly what you sold for, less what you paid, less allowable costs such as:

• buying and selling costs, like solicitor’s and estate agent’s fees and Stamp Duty
• improvements that added to the property, like an extension, but not repairs or upkeep

Then take off any reliefs, and your annual exempt amount of £3,000 for 2026/27. If you inherited the property, you start from its value at the date of death, not what the original owner paid.

Rates for 2026/27

Your position	Rate on the gain
Gain falls within your basic rate band	18%
Gain above your basic rate band	24%

To see which band applies, add the taxable gain to your taxable income for the year. Part of a gain can be taxed at 18% and the rest at 24%.

If it was your home: Private Residence Relief

You won’t pay Capital Gains Tax on your home if all of these apply:

• you have one home and it was your main home for the whole time you owned it
• you didn’t let any of it out, apart from having a lodger
• you didn’t use any part of it only for business
• the grounds, including buildings, are less than 5,000 square metres
• you didn’t buy it just to make a gain

If you didn’t live there the whole time, you may get part of the relief. You always get relief for the last 9 months before you sold, even if you’d moved out. If it’s your only home and you’re disabled or in long-term care, that becomes the last 36 months.

Letting Relief only applies if you lived in the home at the same time as your tenants. It’s the lowest of £40,000, the Private Residence Relief you get, and the gain made from letting.

Married couples and civil partners can only have one main home between them at a time.

What you need to do

• Find your purchase price, the completion date and your buying and selling costs.
• List any improvements, with invoices.
• Work out which periods the property was your main home, if it ever was.
• Estimate your income for the tax year to see which rate applies to the gain.
• Report and pay within 60 days of completion if there’s tax to pay.
• If you’re not UK resident, report within 60 days even if there’s nothing to pay.

Key dates

• Completion day: the 60 days start from here, not from exchange.
• 60 days after completion: report and pay through your Capital Gains Tax on UK property account.