Capital Gains Tax reliefs on property

If you sell, give away, exchange or otherwise dispose of property, such as a building, land or lease, certain tax reliefs can reduce your Capital Gains Tax bill. Your property must meet certain conditions to qualify for these reliefs. Some reliefs are given automatically - you can claim others in writing.

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Your own home - Private Residence Relief

When you sell or dispose of your home you will usually be entitled to Private Residence Relief. You don't need to claim this, it is given automatically. This means that if it was your only or main home, you usually won’t have to pay any Capital Gains Tax.

Find out more about Capital Gains Tax relief on your own home

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Buy-to-let properties, second homes, business premises and land

If you sell or dispose of property and don't qualify for Private Residence Relief - for example if you sell a buy-to-let property, agricultural land, farm buildings or business premises - these are liable for Capital Gains Tax and you must work out the gain or loss.

There may be some additional Capital Gains Tax reliefs you can use if your property has been used for business purposes.

Property used for business purposes

Examples of property which may be used in a business include:

  • agricultural land
  • farm buildings
  • a shop
  • a factory or warehouse
  • a furnished holiday letting in the European Economic Area

If the property counts as a business asset the following reliefs may be available for Capital Gains Tax purposes:

  • Business Asset Roll-Over Relief - All or part of your gain may be postponed if you buy another property or certain other assets for business use.
  • Gifts Hold-Over Relief - If you give away your property all or part of your gain may be postponed until the property is sold. In most cases the person you give it to will pay any Capital Gains Tax.
  • Entrepreneurs' Relief - There's a maximum lifetime limit on the amount of Entrepreneurs' Relief you can claim on qualifying gains. For 2010-11, from 6 April 2010 the limit is the first £2 million of gains made. The limit increased to £5 million from 23 June 2010 and to £10 million from 6 April 2011.

If you're trading in property - for example you're buying and improving houses to sell them at a profit - you may be liable to Income Tax not Capital Gains Tax.

Find out more about Income Tax

Read more about Capital Gains Tax reliefs for business assets

Read more about furnished holiday lettings in the Capital Gains Tax glossary

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More useful links

Find out how and when to report a capital gain

Read about how to work out capital gains on property

Forms and helpsheets for Capital Gains Tax