“Everyone knows” that:-
“A person’s home is exempt from capital gains tax” – SIMPLES!
Well, no actually! In law it may get up to 100% tax relief, but it remains a chargeable disposal.
Imagine:-
1. You own more than one property (including say a holiday home overseas) OR
2. You buy a property to live in, but actually live elsewhere (say in rented accommodation) OR
3. Circumstances change over your period of ownership.
Each of these (quite common) circumstances could give rise to a nasty, unexpected tax liability. We have seen a number of situations where advice has been sought ‘Just Too Late’. This can mean a relatively small outlay “saved” on proper professional advice, results in an expensive (and potentially unnecessary) tax bill – plus, on occasion penalties, for naïve belief in the somewhat misleading phrase, set out above.
Some of the benefits of this suggestion are reflected in the recent case reported below.
Private Residence Relief Claim Rejected
Private Residence Relief (PRR) can be a very beneficial relief where the conditions are met, providing for up to 100% of a gain to be exempted where a property has been a taxpayer’s main residence throughout ownership.
Of course though careers, inheritance, divorce and the general messiness of real life, things do not always quite pan out as simply as “always” living in one house. As a result, claims made perhaps in ignorance and good faith, can lead to disagreements between HMRC and taxpayers over whether, and the extent to which, properties may qualify. This can lead to appeals, so a number of cases end up being dealt with through the courts.
One such recent case was P Lam v HMRC at the First-Tier Tribunal. The case found that a taxpayer’s occupation of the property was not sufficient to meet the conditions. HMRC accepted the taxpayer had spent some time in the property whilst she was renovating it, but they argued that the nature and extent of that occupation was not enough to qualify for relief, which requires a degree of permanence.
What may be useful for taxpayers is that the Tribunal provided a list of things that the taxpayer in this case was not able to provide as evidence. Such factors therefore appear to be key in being able to prove that occupation in a property should be sufficient for the relief. This list included:
• Proof of how many days she lived in the property
• utility bills to establish the time spent there
• moving any furniture into the house
• bringing items that would have made occupation more comfortable
• providing evidence of a change of address
Taking professional advice in advance and keeping good records will certainly make matters easier in the event of an HMRC challenge into a PRR claim. Perhaps an easier route would have been to file a timely election for the relevant property to be deemed the qualifying property.
To quote an old motto, regarding getting matters in order in advance …
“A stitch in time, saves 9”.