What tax do I need to pay if I sell a property?

Published by Tamsyn Jefferson-Harvey on 24th October 2023

If you sell your own home, you usually do not have to pay Capital Gains Tax. You can usually claim Private Residence Relief as long as the following conditions apply:
- this is your only home and you have lived in it the entire time you have owned it
- you have not rented part of it out (this does not include having a lodger who shares a living space with you)
- you have not used any part of your property exclusively for business purposes (this does not include using a room as a study for some of the week)
- the grounds, including buildings, are less than 5,000 square metres

When you sell a property that wasn’t your home, you will usually have Capital Gains Tax to pay. This must be reported and paid to HMRC within 60 days of the sale being completed.
This process is completed via HMRC’s online services. If you have a Government Gateway account (for example to access your Personal Tax account, or your Self Assessment account), you can use these login details. Alternatively you can set up an account.
You will need to have the following to hand in order to complete the Capital Gains Return:
- address and postcode of the property
- date you purchased/obtained the property
- date you exchanged contracts when you were selling (or disposing of) the property
- date you completed
- value of the property when it was purchased/obtained (you may need to use the market value if you received it as a gift, you inherited it, you sold it for less than it was worth to help the buyer, you owned it before April 1982)
- any costs involved in the purchase, sale or improving the property
This can sometimes be a complicated process – it is often worth speaking with an accountant who can do the Capital Gains Return for you. You can get in touch with us if you need help. There is also a wealth of information on the HMRC website.