In the UK, you generally do not pay tax when selling your main home, thanks to Private Residence Relief (PRR). However, you must pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on any profit if you sell a second home, a buy-to-let property, or a home you do not live in full-time. Tax is paid on the gain, not the full sale price, and must be reported/paid within 60 days of completion.
Capital gains tax rates depend on your income tax band: basic-rate taxpayers pay 18%, while higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers pay 24% on gains from selling property. You must report and pay CGT within 60 days of completing the sale of a UK residential property.
To avoid the UK's 60% tax trap (an effective 60% rate on income between £100k-£125k), the key is to reduce your adjusted net income back below £100,000 by making tax-efficient contributions, primarily via pension contributions, which reclaim your full £12,570 Personal Allowance, and also through salary sacrifice for benefits like childcare or cycle-to-work, and Gift Aid donations to charity.
What Are the Legal Ways to Reduce or Avoid CGT?
Any profits on your assets, including those from additional properties, will be taxed at 18% for basic rate taxpayers or 24% if you're a higher or additional rate taxpayer. For the 2025/2026 tax year, you'll get a tax-free allowance of £3,000 and this is offset against any gains.
You do not pay Capital Gains Tax when you sell (or 'dispose of') your home if all of the following apply: you have one home and you've lived in it as your main home for all the time you've owned it. you have not let part of it out - this does not include having a lodger.
The "6-year rule" for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) in Australia allows you to treat a former main residence as tax-exempt for up to six years after you move out, even if you rent it out, enabling you to avoid CGT on any growth during that period. You qualify by moving out, choosing to treat it as your main home for tax, and can reset the rule by moving back in. If you rent it out for longer than six years, only the portion of the gain after the six-year mark becomes taxable.
Main Residence Relief for Foreign Holiday Homes
The foreign property must be your own holiday home for at least part of the time but, by making the election, you will be able to exempt some or all of the capital gain on your foreign home from UK Capital Gains Tax.
On a $100,000 capital gain, you'll likely pay 15% for long-term gains, resulting in about $15,000 in federal tax (plus potential state tax), but it could be 0% or 20% depending on your total taxable income and filing status, while short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income (potentially 22-24%).
As a US citizen or green card holder, you're required to report and potentially pay capital gains tax on the sale—even if the property is overseas.
If you return to the UK within 5 years
You may have to pay tax on certain income or gains made while you were non-resident. This doesn't include wages or other employment income.
FAQs on UK Taxation
Why do the rich pay less tax? The rich often pay less tax due to the use of tax-efficient strategies, such as investing in capital gains assets, maximising pension contributions, and utilizing tax-advantaged accounts like ISAs.
Sign into your Capital Gains Tax on UK property account to pay online. You can pay by: debit or corporate credit card. approving a payment through your online bank account - you'll be asked to sign in to your online bank account.
It allowed sellers to claim CGT exemption for the final 36 months of ownership, even if they had moved out. However, this was reduced to 18 months in 2014 and further to 9 months in 2020, which remains the rule today. This general law is in place as it prevents short-term transaction benefits concerning taxation.
You will be mortgage-free and have a lump sum, which could provide some interest. If you are able to move in with family, a break between selling and buying a house can give you the chance to save.
When you sell your primary residence, $250,000 of capital gains (or $500,000 for a couple) are exempted from capital gains taxation. This is generally true only if you have owned and used your home as your main residence for at least two out of the five years prior to the sale.
The five-year rule
This has to do with the amount of equity the average homeowner has built in their home after five years of possession, and it also takes into account the costs associated with selling a home (and, if applicable, with purchasing a new one).
You may have to pay tax when you sell (or 'dispose of') your UK home if you're not UK resident for tax purposes. Even if you have no tax to pay, you must tell HMRC you've sold the property within 60 days of transferring ownership (conveyancing).
Normally, if you sell (or otherwise dispose of – for example, if you give away) your only or main home, you do not have to pay capital gains tax on any profit if it has been your only or main home throughout the entire period of ownership. This is called main residence relief (or private residence relief).
To qualify for 0% capital gains tax, you must have long-term capital gains (assets held over a year) and your taxable income (after deductions) must fall below specific IRS thresholds, which change annually but are roughly <$48,350 for single filers and <$96,700 for married filing jointly for the 2025 tax year, allowing for higher total income when combined with deductions like the standard deduction. The key is keeping your adjusted gross income (AGI) low enough so that after subtracting deductions, your taxable income remains within these limits.
You get Private Residence Relief for the time you lived there (7.5 years). You also get relief for the last 9 months you owned the property, even though you were not living in it. This means you get Private Residence Relief for 8.25 of the years (55% of the time) you owned the property.
If you become a permanent resident of another country then the capital gains on the sale of stocks which are personal property will be sourced to the residence of the seller.