Tell HMRC about Capital Gains Tax on UK property or land if you’re not a UK resident
When and how to report disposals of UK property or land to HMRC and pay Capital Gains Tax if you're not a resident in the UK.
If you’re not a resident in the UK, you must report disposals of UK property or land even if you:
- have no tax to pay on the disposal
- have made a loss on the disposal
- are registered for Self Assessment
UK property and land includes:
- residential UK property or land (including any buildings on the land)
- non-residential UK property or land
- ‘mixed use’ residential and non-residential — for example, a flat connected to a shop
- rights to assets that derive at least 75% of their value from UK land
Before you report your disposal, work out if you’ve made a taxable capital gain or loss.
Direct disposals
A direct disposal is where you sell or dispose of your interest in UK property or land.
There are different rates of Capital Gains Tax you may need to pay. That depends on if the direct disposal is residential or non-residential.
Residential property is:
- a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling
- properties being constructed or adapted for use as a dwelling
- the garden or grounds of such a building, including structures on them
- the right to get a UK dwelling ‘off plan’
Non-residential property or land includes:
- commercial property, for example shops or offices
- agricultural land
- forests
- any other land or property not used as a residence
Indirect disposals
Indirect disposal is selling or disposing of your interest in an asset that derives 75% or more of its gross value from UK land. Land also includes any buildings on the land.
You must have at least a 25% interest in that asset for the sale or disposal to be an indirect disposal.
We take into account spouses, civil partners and descendants in working out if a person has a 25% interest. Find out more about the definition of a ‘connected person’ in CG73936 of the HMRC Capital Gains Manual.
If you sell units in an investment fund owning UK land, collective investment vehicle rules may apply. These rules might mean you pay Capital Gains Tax even if you own less than 25% of the investment fund. Find out more about collective investment vehicles in CG73995P of the HMRC Capital Gains Manual.
We work out gains on indirect disposals using the value of the asset disposed of, rather than the underlying value of the UK land.
Indirect disposals do not apply when:
- land used in a continuing trade is also disposed of
- 2 or more companies are sold at the same time by the same investors and the ‘property richness test’ would not apply if it were one transaction
Find out more about ‘property richness’ in CG73934 of the HMRC Capital Gains Manual.
Deadlines for reporting a disposal and paying what you owe
You must report and pay any Capital Gains Tax due on UK residential property within:
- 60 days of selling the property if the completion date was on or after 27 October 2021
- 30 days of selling the property if the completion date was between 6 April 2020 and 26 October 2021
You may have to pay interest and a penalty if you do not report and pay on time.
Reporting disposals made on or after 6 April 2020
Use an online Capital Gains Tax on UK property account to report your disposal. You’ll need to sign in to use this service. If you do not already have sign in details, you can create them.
You’ll also need the:
- address and postcode of the property
- date you got the property
- date you exchanged contracts when you were selling (or ‘disposing’ of) the property
- date you stopped being the property’s owner (completion date)
- value of the property when you got it
- value of the property when you sold or disposed of it
- costs of buying, selling or making improvements to the property
- details of any tax reliefs, allowances or exemptions you’re entitled to claim
- property type, if you’re not a resident of the UK
If you cannot report online
You can use a Capital Gains Tax on UK property form to report your disposal by post.
HMRC will send you a 14-digit payment reference number starting with ‘x’ after you’ve reported. You’ll need that reference number to pay any tax you owe before the deadline.
Using a tax agent
If you would like an agent to report the sale or disposal of UK property or land to HMRC on your behalf, you must:
1. Set up an online Capital Gains Tax on UK property account.
2. Give the agent the account number and your country of residence, so they can email you a link requesting access.
3. Accept the authorisation request in the email.
Your agent will then be able to report and manage your account and returns on your behalf.
Reporting disposals made on or before 5 April 2020
If you sold UK property or land before 6 April 2020, complete an online non-resident Capital Gains Tax return.
You’ll need to:
- submit a separate return for each disposal and any amendments you make
- give details of your taxable gains and losses for each disposal in the ‘Other information’ section, or email them to non-residentcgt.spt@hmrc.gov.uk after you submit the return
If you decide to defer payment for UK property or land sold on or before 5 April 2020, you should:
- tell us about taxable gains and losses related to disposal in your Self Assessment return for the tax year after the disposal
- make a payment as part of your normal end of year Self Assessment payment
Using a tax agent
To give us limited authorisation to deal directly with your agent or adviser, email: non-residentcgt.spt@hmrc.gov.uk.
Your email will need to include:
- ‘Non-resident CGT on UK Property or Land’ in the title
- your name and address
- your tax reference number, for example your Unique Taxpayer Reference
- the submission Case ID number or your non-resident Capital Gains Tax reference starting ‘NRCGT’, if you have them
- the name and address of the person or organisation you want to authorise
Limited authorisation only applies to non-residents Capital Gains Tax up to and including 5 April 2020.
You do not need limited authorisation if you already authorised someone to deal with HMRC on your behalf about your Income Tax.
If the property that was disposed was jointly owned
You must report the disposal and give details of your own gain or loss.
Special rules apply if you give a UK property to:
- your spouse
- your civil partner
- charity
Non-resident companies making a disposal
Non-resident companies pay Corporation Tax on gains from UK land and property disposals. They report them on a Corporation Tax return.
You’ll need to register a non-resident company for Corporation Tax if you do not already submit a return.
Trustees of non-UK resident trusts that make a disposal
If you’re a trustee of a non-UK resident trust, you must register with us before either:
- creating an online Capital Gains Tax on UK property account
- completing a Capital Gains Tax on UK property form to report the disposal by post
Find out more about when and how to register a trust.
You will need to register with us even if there’s no tax to pay or you believe the trust is exempt from registration.
Temporary non-residents who make a disposal
Different rules apply if you’re temporarily non-resident and make disposals in a tax year when you were either:
- not resident in the UK
- overseas as part of a split year
If temporary non-resident rules apply, a gain not charged to non-resident Capital Gains Tax is in scope for UK Capital Gains Tax. That applies for the year or period of return to the UK.
If temporary non-resident rules do not apply, there will not be an extra UK Capital Gains Tax charge for the earlier disposal when you return to the UK.
Find out more in the temporary non-residents and Capital Gains Tax (Self Assessment helpsheet HS278).
If you’re an individual (including trustees and executors, or personal representatives of a deceased person) you can get the Annual Exempt Amount. You can only use the Annual Exempt Amount once in a tax year, even if it was a split year.
Personal representatives who make a disposal for a deceased person who lived abroad
If you’re the personal representative of a deceased person who lived abroad, report the disposal to us if:
- the deceased made a disposal before they died that was not reported to us
- you dispose of UK property or land while managing and selling assets for the estate
Find out more about Capital Gains Tax when someone dies.
How to report the disposal
You can report the disposal online if you’re using either:
- your own online Capital Gains Tax on UK property account on behalf of someone else
- the online Capital Gains Tax on UK property account for the complex estate in administration — you’ll need the organisation’s Government Gateway user ID and Unique Taxpayer Reference used to register the trust with HMRC
You must use a Capital Gains Tax on UK property form to:
- use a different agent to deal with the deceased’s estate to the one who deals with your individual tax affairs
- amend a report that has already been submitted online
After you’ve reported your disposal
If you complete a Self Assessment tax return
If you already complete a Self Assessment tax return to report your income to us, you must:
- fill in the Capital Gains section for the tax year following the sale
- give details of your disposal, unless the property was your main home and you qualify for Private Residence Relief
Find out more about non-resident Capital Gains for land and property in the UK (Self Assessment helpsheet HS307).
Keep records
You need to keep records to support the gains or losses you report to us, including calculations you’ve used.
Updates to this page
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The 'Trustees of non-UK resident trusts that make a disposal' section has been updated to make it clear that non-UK resident trusts need to register with HMRC.
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References to Capital Gains Tax on UK property paper form have been updated to Capital Gains Tax on UK property form. Guidance for if you cannot report online has been updated.
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Guidance about indirect disposals involving 'connected persons' and collective investment vehicles has been added.
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The section 'how to report disposals' has been updated with information on how to get a paper form to report Capital Gains Tax on UK property or land.
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Guidance about when you must file a return using the Capital Gains Tax on UK Property Account has been added. We have also added information about authorising an agent to file returns using the Capital Gains Tax on UK Property Account on behalf of the customer.
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Information about when to report and pay non-resident Capital Gains Tax has been updated.
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The 'if you need to amend your Capital Gains Tax return' section has been updated.
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Information about limited authorisation in 'Use a tax agent or adviser' section has been updated.
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You can now report and pay your non-resident Capital Gains Tax using the Capital Gains Tax on UK property service.
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This guide has been amended for the 2019 to 2020 tax year.
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Invitation to 'Take part in our research to help improve GOV.UK' added.
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The guidance has been updated to reflect the extension of non-resident Capital Gains Tax to include all UK property or land, non-resident companies disposing of UK property or land now being liable to Corporation Tax and ATED-related Capital Gains Tax no longer applying from 6 April 2019.
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The 'deadline for reporting disposals and payments' section has been updated.
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Minor text change to the temporary guidance on how to send a return form for 2018 to 2019 while the form is being updated.
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The deadline for reporting disposals and payments has been updated, and temporary guidance added on how to send a return form for 2018 to 2019.
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Section on penalties has been updated to explain when interest could be charged.
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The Penalties section has been updated and a new bullet has been added to 'what isn’t residential property' section.
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Paragraph 'Temporary non-residents - making disposals in the overseas part of a split year' title changed to 'Temporary non-residents'. Minor text change to first sentence.
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Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for the tax year 2016 to 2017.
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First published.