Capital Gains Tax on second properties

[HMRCdontmakeiteasy]

Hi all,

I need to pay my capital gains tax on a second property I owned which I've recently sold. Prior to sale I did some improvements on the property which can offset the amount to pay.

I cannot find a definitive list anywhere that details what improvements are allowed to be deducted.

Has anyone had any experience with this.

I feel like the HMRC deliberately make this hard so they can come back to you and tell you you've underpaid?

There’s loads of articles about it - this one looks reasonably useful!

https://smh.group/repairs-vs-capital-improvements-what-counts-for-capital-gains-tax-when-selling-a-residential-property/

I found that by googling ‘property cgt capital expenditure’ btw if you want to read around

Thank you I did actually find that one when looking earlier!

There isn't a definitive list because it would be endless. It's basically capital v revenue. In the context of a property, any money spent on improving the property can be claimed, so if you built an extension or replaced an old basic kitchen with a high spec kitchen, this would be capital and claimable. Money spent on maintenance - roof repairs, replastering etc or replacement of a basic bathroom suite with another basic bathroom suite is considered repairs and not claimable.

It's basically a question of whether the expenditure has maintained the standard of the property, or enhanced it.