Statistics published by HMRC in August 2022 revealed that in the 2021/22 tax year, 129,000 taxpayers reported residential property disposal using HMRC’s online service, filing 137,000 returns in respect of 141,000 disposal and paying £1.7 billion in tax. However, an estimated 26,500 returns (20%) were filed late, suggesting some ignorance around the rules and the filing deadlines.

What do you need to know?

Need to report residential property gains

Where a chargeable gain is made on the sale of a residential property, the gain must be reported to HMRC within 60 days of completion of the sale.

A reportable gain will arise if you sell a residential property that has not been your only or main residence throughout the period you owned it (or the whole period bar the final nine months). This may be the case because the property has been let out or is a second home. Where the property is owned jointly, each co-owner must report their own share of the gain.

The gain must be reported to HMRC using the online service (see www.gov.uk/report-and-pay-your-capital-gains-tax/if-you-sold-a-property-in-the-uk-on-or-after-6-april-2020). You will need the property details to hand, including the address and post code, acquisition and completion dates, the cost of the property, the disposal proceeds, details of any enhancement expenditure and details of any reliefs or allowances that you wish to claim.

Need to pay associated tax

You will also need to pay the capital gains tax on the gain within the same 60-day window. This is the best estimate of the tax due at the time that the gain was made. You can make use of the annual exempt amount (unless it has been used on a residential property gain earlier in the tax year), and any losses already realised in the year, or brought forward.

Payments can be made by debit or corporate credit card, via online banking or by cheque,

You will need to finalise your capital gains tax position on your self-assessment return for the tax year in which the completion took place to take account of other disposals in the tax year. There may be further tax to pay if you have made chargeable gains on other assets. You may also be eligible for a refund if you realised a capital loss later in the tax year after the completion date of the property.