Capital Gains Tax Planning
UK residential property CGT must be reported and paid within 60 days of completion. Get the calculation wrong and you overpay; miss the deadline and HMRC charges automatic penalties. We match you with a specialist who reconstructs your base cost, claims every applicable relief, and files on time.
Why a specialist matters here
Most CGT overpayment in Harrow comes from three places: missing improvement costs in the base cost calculation, mis-claimed private residence relief during mixed-use periods, and failure to use annual exemptions strategically across tax years. A specialist who handles 30+ Harrow property disposals a year knows where the money is being left on the table.
The three problems a general accountant won't catch
60 days is not the self-assessment deadline
Residential property CGT must be reported and paid within 60 days of completion — not by the following 31 January. HMRC applies automatic £100 penalties for late returns, with daily penalties after six months. Most people miss this because their conveyancer doesn't mention it.
Your base cost is usually higher than you think
Base cost is purchase price plus SDLT, legal fees, survey costs, and every qualifying capital improvement over the holding period. Extensions, loft conversions, new kitchens, new bathrooms — all reduce the taxable gain. Most landlords have no records of these and accept the higher tax.
Private residence relief has edges
If you lived in a property then let it, PRR + the final 9 months + lettings relief can significantly reduce the gain — but only if calculated correctly. The rules around mixed-use periods, absences, and qualifying occupation are easy to get wrong, and getting them wrong in HMRC's favour is common.
What the specialist delivers
Full base cost reconstruction
Purchase price, SDLT, legal fees, surveys, and every qualifying improvement traced through Land Registry, planning records, and mortgage documents. Every pound of proven base cost saves you 24p in tax.
Relief mapping
Private residence relief, lettings relief, annual exempt amount, spousal transfers, and any rollover or gift relief opportunities — identified and claimed with the correct supporting evidence.
60-day return filing
Drafted, reviewed, and submitted within the deadline. Payment calculation checked against your marginal rate in the disposal year. Penalty-free filing, every time.
Pre-disposal planning (if you haven't sold)
If you're considering selling in the next 12 months, pre-disposal planning can change the tax materially. Timing, spousal restructuring, and improvement expenditure choices all matter.
CGT Planning in specific Harrow areas
We publish in-depth analysis only for area–service combinations where we have genuinely distinctive angles. No area–service pages are generated unless we've actually written about them.