Whether it’s your first or second home or whether you are buying, letting or selling there can be tax implications and it is important you get it right.
Rates increase as the cost price increases. However, there are some reliefs for first time buyers.
When buying your second and subsequent properties you’ll usually have to pay 3% on top of the normal SDLT rates. Keeping your initial residence and buying an additional property to move into can result in the 3% premium being charged and advice should be sought prior to purchasing.
There are different rules to follow if you’re:
- Renting a room in your house
- Letting a property as a furnished holiday letting
- Renting out foreign property
- Letting a property in the UK while you live abroad
From 6 April 2017 you can get up to £1,000 a year tax-free allowance for property income.
Usually when you sell your own home you benefit from private residence relief and therefore don’t pay any Capital Gains Tax. However, this doesn’t apply unless all of the follow conditions are met:
- you have one home and you’ve lived in it as your main home for all the time you’ve owned it
- you haven’t let part of it out – this doesn’t include having a single lodger
- you haven’t used part of it for business only
- the grounds, including all buildings, are less than 5,000 square metres (just over an acre) in total
- you didn’t buy it just to make a gain
Married couples and civil partners can only count one property as their main home at any one time.
You may have to pay Capital Gains Tax if you make a profit when you sell property that’s not your home, for example:
- buy-to-let properties
- business premises
- land
- inherited property
Your gain is usually the difference between what you paid for your property and the amount you got when you sold it.
You can deduct costs of buying, selling or improving your property from your gain. These include:
- estate agents’ and solicitors’ fees
- costs of improvement works, for example for an extension (normal maintenance costs, such as decorating, do not count)
The capital gains tax allowance is £11,700 per annum.
Please contact us to find out how we can help you
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