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Sold your home recently? Here's what you need to know.

You sold your home and moved to a new one a few weeks ago. You assumed all the paperwork was done and dusted but someone now tells you that you need to tell HMRC about the sale or face a fine. Is this true?

Newish rules

The rules for reporting the sale of residential property changed on 6 April 2020. Since then individuals are required to send an online report and pay any tax owing using HMRC’s special online service no later than 30 days following the completion of the sale of their home or other residential property. HMRC can fine you for not complying with this reporting but the good news is that there are many situations where a report isn’t required.

No report needed

The rules require you to report a gain within 30 days if there is capital gains tax ( CGT ) to pay and any tax payable must be paid no later than the end of the 30-day period. This means you won’t need to report your sale if the gain liable to tax is less than your capital gains annual exemption (£12,300 for 2020/21). To reach the gain liable to tax you deduct any CGT reliefs you are entitled to, e.g. private residence relief (PRR).


If a property has always been your only or main residence, except for relatively short periods of absence, and has not partly been used for business purposes, PRR will reduce your gain to zero so no report is required. It is really important for you to talk to us so we can make sure relief is available.


Other reliefs can also reduce a gain so that no CGT is payable and therefore no report is needed. For example, enterprise investment scheme deferral relief, holdover relief, capital losses carried forward from earlier years and those made between the start of the tax year and the date you exchanged contracts on the sale of your home or other residential property. If the relief reduces the gain but there is still CGT payable, you must make a report and pay the tax.


The rules can also apply if you give away or sell a property at a price less than the full market value. For example, if you gave a share of a property to a son or daughter. However, this doesn’t apply to a gift or sale at undervalue to your spouse or civil partner.

You must report the sale of your home or other residential property to HMRC within 30 days of completion using HMRC’s online service. You don’t need to do this if there’s no capital gains tax (CGT) payable, for example, because reliefs are available or deductions reduce the gain below your annual CGT exemption. We are always here to help.

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