Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is a tax on the gain or profit you make when you sell, give away or otherwise dispose of something.

You must ensure that any UK residential property disposals (sales) are reported, and any tax due paid to HMRC within the 60-day time limit.

We can help you calculate your current exposure to Capital Gains Tax and then support you to restructure your affairs to potentially reduce this tax.

Stephenson Smart has a specialist tax team that has assisted many clients with their capital Gains Tax exposure and helped them to restructure their affairs to reduce it. We are well positioned to be your Capital Gains Tax accountant, with specialist advisors in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

Capital Gains Tax Planning

We seek to get to know you well so we can use that knowledge to make Capital Gains Tax planning part of our on-going service to you. If we do not know your circumstances, the areas we would look at with you are:

The amount of taxable gain can be reduced by other allowable expenses in addition to the acquisition cost or deemed market value of the asset.

The capital gains tax rate you pay tax at will depend on whether you are:

An individual, the rate is then dependent on the total amount of taxable income and gains during the year of disposal. It may therefore be possible to consider altering your remuneration during the year of disposal to reduce the amount of capital gains tax payable. Trustees and personal representatives pay at one rate regardless of the level of trust income.

You have an annual tax-free allowance for Capital Gains Tax known as the Annual Exempt Amount. We can assist you to maximise this exemption by considering:

How many annual exemptions are available in your household, whether joint ownership would result in a reduced taxable gain and if you could benefit from an exempt transfer. We can also look at how the timing of your disposal will affect the taxable gain and the interaction of your annual exemption with any capital losses brought forward.

Reliefs are available to reduce and defer a chargeable gain. We would consider the requirements of the reliefs and whether you are able to claim them or if you could make any changes to your position to benefit from the reliefs.

A relief we advise on often is Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR), which reduces the rate of Capital Gains Tax payable for clients who run their own businesses.

Capital Gains Tax on property is a concern to most people. Relief is usually available when you sell your own home, providing you have lived in it since ownership. However, if this is not the case but you have lived in it at some point during your period of ownership there is still scope to obtain an element of relief.

We are also able to help you defer the crystallisation of a gain when you incorporate your business or dispose and reinvest in business assets or invest in enterprise investment schemes.

The benefits of using an accountant:

  • We can advise you whether your disposal will be subject to Capital Gains Tax.
  • We can calculate the tax and might be able to minimise, defer or even wipe out a potential charge.
  • We have expert knowledge of the allowances and reliefs that may be available to you.
  • We can communicate with HMRC on your behalf and make sure all necessary paperwork is submitted.
Capital Gains Tax

The tax planning service we provide is:

Professional

Our teams are fully qualified and experienced, to provide you with an efficient and personal service.

Compliant

Our tax specialists are all qualified and fully aware of the tax obligations, allowances, and reliefs available.

Supportive

The advice and support we can offer you will give you the peace of mind to know that you have met your Capital Gains Tax obligations in the most tax efficient way.

Capital Gains Tax
Capital Gains Tax

I was lucky enough to find Stephenson Smart online, whilst faced with a short timeframe to complete the figures for a capital gains assessment. Still grieving, my sister and I had managed to sell our mother’s house and now had to come up with HMRC requirements with Christmas holidays looming. Despite us all being in different countries, Kayleigh Wilson came to our rescue, and guided us through all the hoops, in good time. I cannot thank Kayleigh and all the team enough for impeccable and compassionate service throughout a very stressful time, and for delivering a very satisfactory result in terms of finances.

Julia Fost

Capital Gains Tax

As part of our tax planning advice, we can provide:

  • Expert advice on Capital Gains Tax matters.
  • Experience and knowledge in tax planning.
  • Knowledge of the allowance and reliefs available.

We are members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, making us fully qualified to be your trusted accountant.

With all tax planning, it is beneficial to plan ahead, and our specialist team can provide you with Capital Gains Tax advice to calculate, minimise, defer, or even wipe out a potential charge. We can offer advice to individuals and businesses.

FAQS

In most cases, if the property is your Principal Private Residence, there will be no Capital Gains Tax to pay.

In most scenarios, the sale of an asset will trigger the need for a Capital Gains Tax return. However, other events can also trigger Capital Gains Tax like gifting an asset, selling assets gifted to you, a beneficiary becoming absolutely entitled to trust property, gains made by personal representatives of an estate in administration and in some instances, divorce and separation.

If you have let out your whole property to a tenant you will most likely have to pay Capital Gains Tax on your chargeable gain, this is your gain minus any Private Residence Relief you’re eligible for. You get full relief for the years you lived in the property and the final 9 months you owned the property – even if you were not living there at the time.

On residential property in the UK, Capital Gains Tax must be paid within 60 days of the sale of the property.

No, mortgage payments are not deductible against Capital Gains Tax.