Tax when you sell property

Skip to contents of guide

Work out your gain

Your gain is usually the difference between what you paid for your property and the amount you got when you sold (or ‘disposed of’) it.

If your combined capital gains are over your allowance for the year you’ll have to report and pay Capital Gains Tax.

Market value

In some situations you should use the market value of the property when working out your gain. Do this if:

Selling in special circumstances

There are special rules for calculating your gain if:

Jointly owned property

If you own property jointly with other people, work out the gain for the share that you own.

Deduct costs

You can deduct costs of buying, selling or improving your property from your gain. These include:

  • estate agents’ and solicitors’ fees
  • costs of improvement works, for example for an extension (normal maintenance costs, such as decorating, do not count)

Reliefs

You may get tax relief if the property was:

Work out if you need to pay

Once you know what your gain on the property is, you can calculate if you need to report and pay Capital Gains Tax.

You cannot use the calculator if you:

  • sold land
  • sold business premises
  • sold other chargeable assets in the tax year, for example shares
  • reduced your share of a property that you still jointly own
  • claim any reliefs other than Private Residence Relief or Letting Relief
  • are a company, agent, trustee or personal representative

Calculate Capital Gains Tax on property

If you have Capital Gains Tax to pay

You must report and pay any Capital Gains Tax on most sales of UK property within 60 days.

Reporting a loss

The rules are different if you need to report a loss.