Guidance

Tell HMRC about Capital Gains Tax on UK property or land if you’re not a UK resident

When and how you need to report disposals of UK property or land to HMRC and pay Capital Gains Tax if you're not a resident in the UK.

From:
HM Revenue & Customs
Published
6 April 2015
Last updated
6 April 2024 — See all updates

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 (land for these purposes also includes any buildings on the land)
  • non-residential UK property or land
  • a ‘mixed use’ property is property that has residential and non-residential elements (for example, a flat connected to a shop, doctor’s surgery or office)
  • rights to assets that derive at least 75% of their value from UK land

Before you can report your disposal, you’ll need to work out if you’ve made a taxable capital gain or loss.

Direct disposals

A direct disposal of UK property or land is where a person sells or disposes of their interest in UK property or land.

There are different rates of Capital Gains Tax that you may need to pay, depending on if the direct disposal is for residential or non-residential UK property or land.

Residential property is defined as:

  • a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling
  • properties in the process of being constructed or adapted for use as a dwelling
  • the garden or grounds of such a building, including structures on the garden or grounds
  • the right to acquire 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 which is not used as a residence

Indirect disposals

An indirect disposal of UK property or land is when a non-resident person sells or disposes of their interest in an asset that derives 75% or more of its gross value from UK land. Land for these purposes 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.

‘Connected persons’ (such as spouses, civil partners or some descendants) are also included when working out if a person has an investment of at least 25%. 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 which owns UK land, the special rules for collective investment vehicles might apply. These rules may mean that you have to 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.

The gains on indirect disposals will be worked out using the value of the asset being disposed of, rather than the value of the underlying 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 the disposals were treated as one transaction — find out more information 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’ll be able to 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

Start now

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 your disposal. 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 your Capital Gains Tax on UK property account number and country of residence, so they can email you a link to request access to your Capital Gains Tax on UK property account.

  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 have sold a UK property or land before 6 April 2020 you must complete an online non-resident Capital Gains Tax return form.

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 of the return form, or email them to [email protected] after you have submitted the return form

If you decide to defer payment for UK property or land sold on or before 5 April 2020, you should:

  • include details of the taxable gains and losses relating to the disposal with your Self Assessment return for the tax year following a sale
  • make a payment as part of your normal end of year Self Assessment payment

Using a tax agent

To give HMRC limited authorisation to deal directly with your agent or adviser, email: [email protected].

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 have 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 and 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 Corporation Tax return.

Trustees of non-UK resident trusts that make a disposal

If you’re a trustee of a non-UK resident trust that become liable to pay non-resident Capital Gains Tax, you must be registered with HMRC before you can create an online Capital Gains Tax on UK property account. Find out more about when and how to register a trust.

If the trust does not need to register with HMRC and there’s no tax to pay you must still report the disposal using a Capital Gains Tax on UK property form.

Temporary non-residents who make a disposal

Different rules apply if you’re temporarily non-resident and make disposals during a tax year when you were either:

  • not resident in the UK
  • overseas as part of a split year

If you meet the temporary non-resident rules then the portion of gain not charged to non-resident Capital Gains Tax will come within the scope of UK Capital Gains Tax for the year, or period of return to the UK.

If you do not meet the temporary non-resident rules, there will not be an additional UK Capital Gains Tax charge for the earlier disposal when you return to the UK.

Read temporary non-residents and Capital Gains Tax (Self Assessment helpsheet HS278) to find out more about the treatment of Capital Gains Tax during a period abroad and the temporary non-resident rules.

If you’re an individual (including trustees and executors, or personal representatives of a deceased person) you are entitled to the Capital Gains Tax 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, you’ll need to report the disposal to HMRC if:

  • the deceased made a disposal before they died that has not been reported to HMRC
  • 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 account and Unique Taxpayer Reference that was 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 HMRC, you must fill in the Capital Gains section for the tax year following the sale and give details of your disposal, unless the property was your main home and you qualify for Private Residence Relief.

Read non-resident Capital Gains for land and property in the UK (Self Assessment helpsheet HS307) to find out more about when you need to report a disposal on your Self Assessment tax return.

Keep records

You need to keep records to support the gains or losses you report to HMRC, including any calculations that you’ve used.

Updates to this page

Published 6 April 2015
Last updated 6 April 2024 + show all updates

  1. 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.

  2. Guidance about indirect disposals involving 'connected persons' and collective investment vehicles has been added.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. Information about when to report and pay non-resident Capital Gains Tax has been updated.

  6. The 'if you need to amend your Capital Gains Tax return' section has been updated.

  7. Information about limited authorisation in 'Use a tax agent or adviser' section has been updated.

  8. You can now report and pay your non-resident Capital Gains Tax using the Capital Gains Tax on UK property service.

  9. This guide has been amended for the 2019 to 2020 tax year.

  10. Invitation to 'Take part in our research to help improve GOV.UK' added.

  11. 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.

  12. The 'deadline for reporting disposals and payments' section has been updated.

  13. Minor text change to the temporary guidance on how to send a return form for 2018 to 2019 while the form is being updated.

  14. 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.

  15. Section on penalties has been updated to explain when interest could be charged.

  16. The Penalties section has been updated and a new bullet has been added to 'what isn’t residential property' section.

  17. 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.

  18. Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for the tax year 2016 to 2017.

  19. First published.

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