If you are selling a UK residential property that is NOT your main residence you need to file a Capital Gains Tax Property Disposal return with HMRC and pay the tax due within 60 days of the sale. If you are registered for self assessment you will also need to include the property sale on your self assessment tax return.
Given the relatively short timeframe that you have to both report the sale, and also pay the tax, it makes sense to let your accountant know that you are in the process of selling the property so you can gather the right information together to file the CGT return. If you miss the filing deadline there are usually penalties to pay.
This rules only applies to UK residential property and it doesn’t apply to your main home – unless you’ve lived elsewhere at any point. If you have lived elsewhere at any point and/or rented your main home out then you may not be able to claim Principal Private Residence (PPR) Relief for the entire period of ownership. Instead you’ll pay tax on the months you didn’t live there, instead of the entire period being exempt.
How do I file the 60 day return?
If you need to report a disposal to HMRC you will need to do this through your ‘Capital Gains Tax on UK property account’. Taxpayers need to access this via their own Government Gateway account and then they can authorise an agent (accountant or tax advisor) to file the return for them.
As the return is being filed within the tax year you’ll need to estimate the tax due on disposal. To do this you will need to estimate your income for the tax year as a whole and determine whether you are a basic or higher rate tax payer, then multiply the gain at the relevant rate (for 2026/27 tax year the basic rate for CGT is 18% and the higher rate is 24%). You are allowed to set off the £3,000 annual exemption against the gain and any allowable losses brought forward from the previous year before you calculate the tax.
Where the property disposal results in a loss there is no requirement to file the 60 day return; however you still need to report it on your self assessment tax return.
The final tax due is normally calculated when the self assessment tax return is filed with any under or overpayment adjusted on the tax return.
How much tax will you pay?
Capital gains tax is calculated on the increase in the capital value of the property from when you bought it to when you sell it. In simple terms, if you bought a house 10 years ago and you paid £100,000, then you sell it for £150,000, the gain on that property is £50,000.
You are then entitled to set off your Annual Exempt amount which for the 2026/27 tax year is £3,000 (providing you haven’t used it on any other gain in the same tax year). You are then taxed on the remaining gain at the basic or higher rate which for the 2026/27 tax year is 18% or 24%. The rate you pay depends on how much other income you have that year.
Next steps
If you are thinking of selling a property or have recently sold one then it’s a good idea to tell your accountant so they can help you get the information together to complete the 60 day return on time.
Get in touch with us if you have a property you’re thinking of selling as we can help you prepare the capital gain calculation and file the return for you with HMRC.
Get in touch here>> contact us.
This information was correct at the time of writing and is for general guidance; it does not constitute financial advice.
Share this post: