Capital Gains tax - avoiding

[joonyboy80]

Hi,

I have a property I bought 6 yrs ago, my first property. I moved in for a year, but due to losing my job, I decided to move back in with my parents and rent the property out.

Whilst it's been rented I bought a flat and moved out several years down the line. I've had tennants come and go, but currently I'm having trouble and am going through an eviction process with my tennant. Once my tennant has been evicted I want to sell the place as my first property and avoid paying capital gains tax - how can I do this?

Is there a minimum amount of tme I need to stay in the property before selling it? Do I need to show bills in my name at the address? Should I avoid telling my solicitor and/or estate agent the property was rented out?

thanks

Dan

[JamesM]

Hi Dan - firstly I'm not a tax expert, but i researched this recently for a BTL I was selling and it appears that HMRC are hot on all the tricks and if you try to dodge it by simply not declaring it you're taking abig risjk of being investigated.

You have an annual allowance, about £10,000 on which you won't be taxed and you can offset costs of buying and selling and any capital works.

I've read on other forums that tricks like changing the bills over and moving in for 6 months are dodgy as well.

I'd say find a really good tax accountant, tell him the situation and pay him to minimise your CGT.
J.

[jensmith]

I would definitely seek advice on this esepcially after the budget.