Capital Gains Tax UK —
Every Relief Identified, Every Report Filed

Since April 2020, UK residents selling UK residential property must file a CGT return and pay any CGT owed within 60 days of completion. Many property sellers are unaware of this requirement and only discover it when preparing their annual Self Assessment return — by which time they are already in default, with automatic penalties of £100 per return and interest on the unpaid tax. We file 60-day returns within days of receiving completion details.

Many CGT computations understate allowable costs — reducing the gain incorrectly. Allowable costs include the original purchase price, stamp duty, legal fees on purchase and sale, estate agent fees, costs of improvement (not maintenance), and certain capital expenditure that enhances the asset. For properties held for many years, these costs can significantly reduce the chargeable gain. We identify every allowable cost systematically.

Married couples and civil partners can transfer assets between themselves at no gain/no loss — effectively allowing both annual exempt amounts to be used against a single gain. For 2024/25, this doubles the exemption to £6,000. We advise on timing asset transfers between spouses to maximise the combined exemption before any disposal, where this is commercially appropriate.

Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR, formerly Entrepreneurs’ Relief) reduces the CGT rate on qualifying business disposals to 10% — versus 20% for other assets. Many business owners are unaware they qualify or fail to meet the qualifying conditions (minimum 5% shareholding, 2-year holding period, officer or employee). We assess BADR eligibility for every business disposal and ensure the claim is correctly made, saving clients tens of thousands of pounds.

Generally no — your main residence is exempt from CGT under Private Residence Relief (PRR). However, PRR does not apply to the full gain if you have let the property, used part of it exclusively for business, owned a garden above half a hectare, or have not lived there for the entire period of ownership. Periods of non-residence after April 2020 are also fully chargeable. We calculate PRR accurately, including the final 9-month exemption period that applies regardless of residence.

You have 60 days from the date of completion to file a CGT return and pay any CGT owed to HMRC on UK residential property sales. This is separate from your annual Self Assessment return. The CGT reported via the 60-day return is then included in your Self Assessment return for that tax year, with any overpayment refunded or underpayment collected at that point. We file 60-day returns as a priority service with same-week turnaround available.

Yes — capital losses in the current tax year must be offset against capital gains in the same year before applying the annual exempt amount. If losses exceed gains, the remaining losses are carried forward to offset future gains. Losses from previous years are carried forward and used to reduce taxable gains in later years (after the annual exempt amount). We track all capital losses for clients and apply them optimally to minimise CGT across multiple years.

BADR reduces CGT to 10% on gains up to a lifetime limit of £1 million on qualifying business disposals. To qualify, you must be selling all or part of a trading business, shares in a personal company, or assets used in a business you’re closing — and you must have held the qualifying interest for at least 2 years ending on the date of disposal, held at least 5% of shares and voting rights, and been an officer or employee of the company throughout. We assess BADR eligibility carefully and structure disposals to maximise the relief.

Yes — HMRC treats cryptocurrency as a capital asset, not currency. Any disposal of cryptocurrency — selling for fiat currency, exchanging one crypto for another, using crypto to purchase goods or services or gifting crypto (except to a spouse) — is a CGT disposal. The gain or loss is calculated using the pooling rules (section 104 pool) for same-day and 30-day matching. We prepare cryptocurrency CGT computations and ensure all disposals are correctly reported in your Self Assessment return.