Capital Gains Tax on property: rates, allowances and the 60-day rule

Capital Gains Tax is a tax on the profit (the "gain") you make when you sell, or give away, a property that isn't your main home. For the 2026 to 2027 tax year, the first £3,000 of your total gains is tax-free, and the rest is taxed at 18% or 24% depending on your income. If you sell a UK home and there's tax to pay, you must report it to HMRC and pay within 60 days of completion.

This guide explains how the tax works in England and Wales: when it applies, how to work out a gain, what you can deduct and how the 60-day rule works. It's general information, not tax advice. Everyone's figures are different, so speak to an accountant or tax adviser about your own sale.

When do you pay Capital Gains Tax on property?

You may have to pay Capital Gains Tax when you sell a property that isn't your home and it has gone up in value. GOV.UK gives these examples:

• buy-to-let properties
• business premises
• land
• inherited property

It also covers a second home or holiday home, and a former home that you moved out of and kept, although part of the gain on a former home can still be tax-free.

Giving a property away counts too. If you give a property to someone other than your husband, wife, civil partner or a charity, the gain is worked out using its market value at the time, not the price paid. The same applies if you sell it for less than it's worth to help the buyer, for example to a family member.

You don't usually pay Capital Gains Tax when:

• you sell your own home and it's been your only or main home for the whole time you've owned it. This is Private Residence Relief, explained in do you pay tax when you sell your home?
• you give or sell a property to your husband, wife or civil partner. They take over your original cost, so tax may be due when they sell it.
• you give it to a charity

Capital Gains Tax rates and allowance for 2026 to 2027

What	2026 to 2027
Tax-free allowance (annual exempt amount) for individuals	£3,000
Rate on gains within your unused basic rate band	18%
Rate on gains above the basic rate band	24%
Rate for executors (personal representatives)	24%
Rate for trustees	24%
Allowance for most trusts	£1,500
Deadline to report and pay on a UK home	60 days from completion

Gains on residential property have been taxed at 18% and 24% since 6 April 2024, and most other gains have been taxed at the same rates since 30 October 2024. Before April 2024, the higher rate on residential property was 28%, so older guides and calculators may show the wrong figure.

Which rate applies to you?

Your taxable gain is added on top of your taxable income for the tax year in which you sell. For 2026 to 2027, the basic rate band is £37,700 of taxable income, which sits above the £12,570 Personal Allowance. For most people that means the basic rate band runs up to £50,270 of total income.

• The part of your taxable gain that fits into what's left of your basic rate band is taxed at 18%.
• Anything above it is taxed at 24%.

If you're already a higher or additional rate taxpayer, the whole taxable gain is taxed at 24%. If your income is over £100,000, your Personal Allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 above that figure, which changes the sums.

How to work out your gain

1. Start with the sale price.
2. Take off what you paid for the property. If you were given it, use its market value when you got it. If you inherited it, use its value at the date of death (the probate value).
3. Take off the costs of buying it, such as solicitor's and surveyor's fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax (or Land Transaction Tax in Wales).
4. Take off the costs of selling it, such as estate agent's and solicitor's fees and advertising.
5. Take off the cost of improvements, such as an extension.

What's left is your gain. From that, take off any capital losses from the same tax year (and, if you still need to, unused losses from earlier years), then your £3,000 allowance. The result is your taxable gain.

Costs you can and can't deduct

You can usually deduct	You can't deduct
Estate agent's fees	Normal maintenance, such as decorating
Solicitor's or conveyancer's fees on the purchase and the sale	Costs that weren't wholly for buying, improving or selling it
Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Transaction Tax paid when you bought
Surveyor's and valuer's fees
Advertising to find a buyer
Improvement works, such as an extension
Valuations needed to work out the gain

Keep the receipts. If HMRC asks how you worked out your gain, you'll need to show what you spent.

A worked example

Here's how the sum works for a buy-to-let sold in the 2026 to 2027 tax year. The seller's total income for the year, including the rent, is £32,570, so their taxable income after the £12,570 Personal Allowance is £20,000. That leaves £17,700 of the £37,700 basic rate band.

	Amount
Sale price	£260,000
Purchase price	−£150,000
Buying costs (solicitor and Stamp Duty)	−£4,000
Extension	−£15,000
Selling costs (agent and solicitor)	−£5,000
Gain	£86,000
Annual exempt amount	−£3,000
Taxable gain	£83,000
£17,700 at 18%	£3,186
£65,300 at 24%	£15,672
Capital Gains Tax to pay	£18,858

The seller would need to report the sale and pay £18,858 within 60 days of completion. Our Capital Gains Tax calculator runs the same sum with your own figures.

The 60-day rule: reporting and paying

If you sell a UK residential property and there's Capital Gains Tax to pay, you must report the sale and pay the tax within 60 days of completion. You do this online with a Capital Gains Tax on UK property account. If you're registered for Self Assessment, you also need to include the sale on your tax return for that year.

To report, you'll need:

• the property's address and postcode
• the date you bought or acquired it
• the dates of exchange and completion on the sale
• what it cost, or was worth, when you got it, and what you sold it for
• the costs of buying, selling and improving it
• any reliefs, allowances or exemptions you're claiming

If you don't report and pay on time, you may have to pay interest and a penalty.

When you don't need to report. GOV.UK says UK residents don't need to report gains online if their total gains for the year are below the £3,000 tax-free allowance. People who aren't UK resident must report every sale of UK property or land within 60 days, even if there's no tax to pay.

Joint owners each report their own share of the gain, using their own account.

Reliefs and rules that can reduce the tax

These are the main rules that can make the bill smaller. Whether any of them apply depends on your circumstances, so check with an accountant before relying on one.

• Private Residence Relief. If the property was your main home at some point, the time you lived there and the final 9 months you owned it are usually tax-free. See do you pay tax when you sell your home?
• Letting Relief. This only applies if you lived in your home at the same time as your tenants. It's capped at £40,000 and doesn't cover periods when you let the whole property.
• Losses. A loss on another asset in the same tax year is deducted from your gains, and unused losses from earlier years can be carried forward. You can claim a loss up to 4 years after the end of the tax year in which you made it.
• Joint ownership. Each owner pays tax only on their share of the gain, using their own allowance and their own rate band.
• Transfers between spouses. There's no Capital Gains Tax when a husband, wife or civil partner gives or sells an asset to the other. The one receiving it takes over the original cost, so the gain is worked out from when it was first owned when they later sell.

Does selling quickly, or for less, change the tax?

The tax depends on the gain, not on how fast you sell or who buys. A lower price means a smaller gain and less tax, but you still end up with less money, because the tax is only ever part of the difference.

That matters if you're comparing ways to sell. Cash house buyers, including us, usually pay below market value, in return for speed and certainty. For a property in good condition, with no time pressure, an estate agent sale usually leaves you with more, even after the agent's fee and the extra tax on the bigger gain. Compare what you'd keep after tax and costs under each route, not just the headline price.

Selling to a family member at a discount doesn't reduce the tax either: HMRC uses the market value instead of the price paid.

Records to keep

• the purchase completion statement and your Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax return
• invoices and receipts for improvements
• the sale completion statement and the agent's and solicitor's invoices
• any valuations, including the probate value if you inherited the property
• a copy of your 60-day return and proof of payment

England, Wales and non-residents

Capital Gains Tax is a UK tax, so the same rates, allowance and 60-day rule apply in England and Wales. The difference in Wales is on the buying side: Land Transaction Tax has replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax for purchases completed since 1 April 2018, and it counts as a buying cost in the same way.

If you live outside the UK, take advice before you sell. Non-residents must report every UK property sale within 60 days, even when there's no tax to pay.

If you inherited the property, the rules on who pays and which allowance applies are different. See Capital Gains Tax on inherited property.