Selling a second home, shares or a business? We work out your Capital Gains Tax accurately, claim every relief, file your 60-day property CGT return on time, and make sure you never pay a penny more than you owe.
Capital Gains Tax
Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is charged when you sell or give away an asset that has risen in value, most commonly a second home or buy-to-let, shares and funds held outside an ISA, or a business. You only pay tax on the gain, the increase in value after allowable costs, and only above your annual exempt amount, which is now £3,000. Residential property gains are taxed at 18 or 24 per cent depending on your income, and other gains at 18 or 24 per cent, so getting the calculation and reliefs right matters.
Your Tax Help Accountants calculates your gain correctly, deducting purchase and selling costs, improvement spending and available reliefs, and files the return on time. For UK residential property you must report and pay within 60 days of completion on a special CGT return, and we handle that whole process, as well as reporting other gains through Self Assessment. The result is an accurate bill, every relief claimed, and no missed deadlines.
The most expensive CGT mistakes are missing the 60-day property deadline, forgetting to deduct improvement costs and buying and selling fees, and overlooking reliefs like Private Residence Relief. A quick review before or just after a sale usually saves far more than our fee.
The Detail That Matters
Capital Gains Tax is charged on the profit when you sell or give away an asset that has risen in value, not on the whole amount you receive. The rules changed materially in the October 2024 Budget, and with the annual exemption now just £3,000, far more disposals are caught.
You pay CGT on the gain, sale proceeds less what you paid, less allowable costs such as buying and selling fees and qualifying improvements. Only the gain above your annual exempt amount is taxable, and that exemption has fallen from £12,300 to £3,000, so a modest disposal now creates a bill where it once did not.
From 30 October 2024 the main CGT rates are 18% (basic-rate band) and 24% (higher-rate band) for most assets, aligning them with residential property. Your gain stacks on top of your income to decide which rate applies, so a large gain can be part-taxed at 18% and part at 24% in the same year.
Business Asset Disposal Relief gives a reduced rate on qualifying business sales (10%, rising to 14% from April 2025 and 18% from April 2026, on up to a £1m lifetime limit). Private Residence Relief exempts your main home. Losses on other assets, current-year and carried-forward, are set against gains before the exemption.
Transfers between spouses are on a no-gain-no-loss basis, so moving an asset, or a share of it, to a spouse before sale uses two £3,000 exemptions and potentially a second person's basic-rate band. Splitting a disposal across two tax years uses two years' exemptions. These simple, legitimate steps often save more than people expect.
The two costliest mistakes we see are forgetting to deduct allowable improvement costs and purchase fees (which quietly inflate the gain), and missing the 60-day reporting deadline on residential property, which triggers penalties on top of the tax.
Key Figures
How We Help
Sold a UK residential property? We calculate the gain, claim all costs and reliefs, and file and pay your CGT within the 60-day deadline so you avoid penalties and interest.
Gains on shares, funds, second-hand assets and crypto worked out accurately, losses offset, and reported correctly through your Self Assessment return.
Private Residence Relief, letting relief, gift and spousal transfers, and timing across tax years to use two annual exemptions, we plan the sale to keep the tax as low as legitimately possible.
All the forms, calculations and correspondence handled on your behalf, so you never have to decode HMRC's rules or sit on hold.
A clear fixed fee quoted after a free call, your position explained in plain English, and never a surprise bill.
We act quickly, and where earlier years are involved we put those right too, reclaiming refunds or minimising penalties.
For UK residential property, you must report and pay CGT within 60 days of completion, and HMRC charges penalties and interest if you miss it, even if the tax is later covered. Many people also overpay by forgetting improvement costs, buying and selling fees, or reliefs they were entitled to. We make sure the deadline is met and every deduction is claimed.
Recent Client Outcome
One client planned to sell a second property standing at a £96,000 gain, and had budgeted for a 24% bill on almost the whole amount.
What we did. We deducted £9,500 of previously overlooked costs (stamp duty on purchase, legal fees, and a documented extension), reducing the gain to £86,500. We transferred a half-share to their spouse before completion on a no-gain-no-loss basis, so each used a £3,000 exemption and part of a basic-rate band, and we timed exchange and completion so part of each person's gain fell in the 18% band.
The outcome. Instead of roughly £23,000 of CGT, the couple paid around £16,400, and we filed both 60-day returns on time, avoiding late-filing penalties.
The saving of about £6,600 came entirely from allowable costs, the spouse transfer, and timing, all of which were available to them but easy to miss.
Why People Come to Us
Questions Answered
Want us to handle this for you, end to end?
See our Self-Assessment Accountant →Free fifteen-minute call. Fixed quote within twenty-four hours. Your return filed, every expense claimed, your bill explained, and salon VAT, payroll and accounts handled if you own a salon. Same accountant, start to finish.
Or email info@yourtaxhelp.co.uk, we typically respond within two business hours.
📅 Free consultation calls available weekdays 1pm to 3pm and 7pm to 8pm. Pick a slot that suits you.