Capital Gains Tax update!

The requirements in relation to commercial properties have remained the same but the calculations for sale of residential properties need to be undertaken and disclosed earlier.

From the date of sale, a taxpayer has 60 days to carry out the calculations, set up a capital gains tax HMRC portal, submit the information and pay the tax due. Most of this is administrative work that can be completed fairly easily, the main complication is the workings for determining how much the tax liability will be.

A basic calculation will take the sales price, deduct any legal fees on the sale or purchase of the property, deduct the purchase price, deduct stamp duty paid and deduct any costs in relation to improving the property. This will give a value for the gain. The gain can be reduced further if the taxpayer lived in the property at any time.

Tax free allowances are then applied to the gain – £6,000 per taxpayer in 2023/24 year and dropping to £3,000 in the 2024/25 year.

Once a taxpayer has this final gain figure, they will need to estimate all other income they are likely to receive in the year to calculate how much of the gain will be taxed at the lower rate of 18% or the higher rate of 28%.

We have found some clients are struggling to obtain the appropriate information in order to ensure the calculations can be carried out so please do remember that if you own any second properties you should be retained all the purchase information including expenditure on legal fees and improvements for as long as you own it as this is not covered by HMRC’s normal rules in relation to record keeping.

We undertake hundreds of submissions of capital gains tax returns a year and can assist with this if anyone is unsure.

Please call the office number on 01323 649509 or email info@dominichill.co.uk and we will ensure you get the appropriate help.