Capital Gains Tax on property: what is due and the 60-day deadline

Capital Gains Tax on a sale at a glance

Do you pay Capital Gains Tax on the home you live in?

Usually not. Private Residence Relief covers the gain if you have one home, you lived in it as your main home the whole time you owned it, you did not let part of it out (a lodger who shares your living space does not count), you did not use part of it only for business, the grounds are under 5,000 square metres, and you did not buy it just to make a gain.

If you moved out, the last 9 months before the sale are always covered. Some absences count as living there too: up to 3 years for any reason, up to 4 years when work in the UK kept you away, and any time working abroad, as long as you lived there before and after (unless your work stopped you moving back). A married couple or civil partners can have only one main home between them at a time.

If you let the whole home after moving out, relief for the letting years is usually lost, apart from the last 9 months and any absence that counts as living there. Letting Relief now applies only if you lived there at the same time as your tenant, and it is capped (GOV.UK: letting out part of your home).

How much tax is due when you sell a buy-to-let or second home?

The gain is roughly what you sold it for minus what you paid, less your costs. GOV.UK lets you take off estate agent and solicitor fees and the cost of improvements such as an extension, but not upkeep such as decorating. If you own it jointly, each owner works out the gain on their own share.

Take off the annual tax-free allowance (per person, per tax year: GOV.UK rates and allowances). Then the rate depends on your income: gains that fit inside your basic-rate Income Tax band are taxed at 18%, and the rest at 24%.

Your figure depends on your income, other gains or losses and any reliefs. An accountant or HMRC can confirm it.

What if you inherited the house you are selling?

You do not pay Capital Gains Tax on the inheritance itself. When you sell, the gain is measured from the home’s value on the date the person died, not what they paid for it. If Inheritance Tax was payable on the estate and a value for the home was settled for it, that value is used. Otherwise it is the home’s market value on the date of death. So a quick sale close to the date-of-death value often leaves a small gain or none.

Who sells matters. If the executors (personal representatives) sell before the home passes to you, the gain is theirs: they pay 24% on residential property, and they get the same annual allowance as an individual for the tax year of the death and the next two tax years. If the home passes to you first and you then sell, the gain is yours, at your own rates and allowance.

The 60-day deadline applies to an executors’ sale too.

Exchange in March, complete in April: which tax year is the gain in?

Two different dates apply. For the tax year (and so which year’s rates and allowance you use), the sale happens when contracts are exchanged (for a normal, unconditional contract). For the 60-day deadline, the clock starts at completion.

So if you exchange on 30 March and complete on 10 April, the gain falls in the tax year that ends on 5 April, but your deadline is 60 days after 10 April. If you want the gain in the new tax year, exchange on or after 6 April. Talk to your accountant before you agree an exchange date near 5 April. The checker above shows the tax year when you add an exchange date.

Do you report a UK sale if you live abroad?

Yes, every time. If you are not UK resident, you must report the sale or disposal of any UK property or land within 60 days of completion. That includes when there is no tax to pay and when you made a loss. Reporting late can mean interest and a penalty. You can report through someone else, such as an accountant, or by post if you cannot use the online service. GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax for non-residents.

Is Capital Gains Tax any different for a home in Wales?

No. Capital Gains Tax is a UK tax collected by HMRC, so a sale in Wales follows the same rates, allowance and 60-day rule as one in England. Wales has its own taxes, but these are Land Transaction Tax, Landfill Disposals Tax and the Welsh rates of Income Tax. Where Wales differs is on a purchase: if you are selling to buy again in Wales, the tax on your purchase is Land Transaction Tax, not Stamp Duty. Land Transaction Tax calculator.

Who sends the return to HMRC, and what will you need?

You do, or someone you authorise, such as an accountant. It goes through HMRC’s online “Capital Gains Tax on UK property account”, or by post if you cannot use it. If you already fill in a Self Assessment return, the sale goes on that too. GOV.UK: report and pay Capital Gains Tax on UK property.

HMRC asks for the address, the date you got the property, the exchange date, the completion date, the value when you got it and when you sold it, your buying, selling and improvement costs, and any reliefs you claim.

Several of these come from your conveyancing papers. When we act on your sale, your completion statement sets out the sale price and the payments made from it, such as the estate agent’s fee and our fees. Keep it with the purchase papers from when you bought.

What does it cost to sell with us?

Our fee range for selling a residential property is in the box below, with what it covers and the typical disbursements. Capital Gains Tax is paid by you to HMRC. It is not part of our fees. We give you a written, itemised quote before you instruct us.

We are not tax or financial advisers.

Which official figures apply to a sale in 2026/27?

Checked against GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk on 29 October 2026. Rates can change at a Budget.

What happens next

• Selling a home as an executor
• Your redemption statement, line by line
• Selling your home with us
• Buy-to-let conveyancing
• More guides, explained