capital gains tax

[ijustwanttobeme]

Hi,

I own a property outright worth approx 100k.

I bought it over 10 years ago and for most of that time, it has been rented out to various tenants.It is all above board, re: HMRC and I pay tax on the rental income.

however, I am considering selling the property and putting the equity into my partners' property,so that his mortgage is paid off. (We have been together many years and have DCs together).

If I sell, I am going to pay capital gains tax, but I don't understand exactly what that is. I have also read about lettings relief offsetting cgt,how does that work?.

Basically a capital gain is the increase in value of an asset between the dates of purchase and selling minus any costs. There is a tax liability on the gain. HOwever there are certain reliefs from paying tax such as the relief from CGT on your main residence and the last three years of owning a property if you lived there at some point. Info and links to relevant HMRC docs here;

www.which.co.uk/money/tax/guides/capital-gains-tax-explained/capital-gains-tax-and-property/

YOu might also find the HMRC CGT manual available from their website useful but if you have difficulty understanding it there is no substitute for professional advise from an accountant and it shouldn't cost a great deal.

Is there anything you don't know STIDW?