What are the rules for private residences and Capital Gains Tax relief?
Normally, the house or flat in which you live is exempt from Capital Gains Tax when you sell it. The property must have been your only or main residence during the period of ownership. During the last 36 months of ownership, the property is always regarded as your main residence even if you don’t live there. You can also be absent for periods totalling three years and for any period throughout which you worked abroad. In addition, if you had any work which required you to live in job-related accommodation, that also does not stand against you for Capital Gains Tax purposes. Any periods of absence in excess of the periods allowed result in the relevant proportion of your sale profit being charged to Capital Gains Tax. If a specific part of your house is set aside for business purposes, then that proportion of your profits on the sale of the house will be taxable. However, if you don’t have any rooms used exclusively for business purposes, you will not normally be liable to any Capital G
