Anyone know anything about Capital Gains Tax?

[Bubbaloo]

We're about to sell a property and some land that dh owns and have been told that we will have to pay Capital Gains Tax on it.Our Solicitor has told us to contact an accountant to sort it out but just wondered if anyone has a clue about how they work it out,so I can get a rough idea how much we're going to have to pay,please.

Tia.

Good - sounds like it has already been factored into the price then.

It's complicated as you can apply some allowances retrospectively and offset the amount of relief you can claim, depending on circumstances such as how long the property has been owned, cost of certain maintenance and whether your dh has ever lived there as his principal private residence. You do need to employ a specialist to make sure it is worked out correctly.

Thanks Lizs.
I did speak to an accountant on the phone and while he was very nice I basically didn't understand what he was telling me.He said he was going to email me 'the formula' of how it's worked out and hopefully my aunt will be able to make some sense of it,so at least I can get an idea of how much the tax bill is going to be.
Yes,I'll definately get an accountant to sort it all out as it's very complicated.We've also now decided to apply for planning permission for the land aswell,as apparently if granted,it will add around another 60k to the value,so there's that to sort out too.
I'm still completely confused by all of it(and still don't really understand it)but thanks very much to everyone.

Bubbaloo - just out of interest, (don't want to crow just would be nice to know), what made you decide to now go for planning permission? Was it because of what I mentioned or something else.

As I say, we have inherited a building which is derelict and are going for planning which is 50/50 if we would get it but which would increase its value hugely, so it is something I am familiar with if there is anything you want to know.

With regards to capital gains tax have a look at this link, it may help

Just another hint, (hope you don't think I'm a know it all), you can always 'phone your local tax office and ask for advice. I always find them helpful and much much cheaper than speaking to your accountant,(am always shocked how much ours charge us for advice). If you don't understand then ask them to explain it again - it is your money so you are entitled to understand it fully. Maybe have some example figures to give them so they can work it out so you may understand better.

Helennn-thanks for the link.
When we had the property and land valued we were hoping it would be worth something around 300k,but infact it is alot more than that and we're very happy with the valuation.We had no idea that CGT existed.
It now turns out that if we do apply for PP and it is granted it would put the valuation up by around another 60k and seeing as the CGT is going to be a big chunk,we thought we may aswell get as much as we can.
After it is sold,we then have 2 properties to buy,so that extra 60k will make quite a difference to us.
Luckily,my aunt has her own estate agency which is handy and I'm going to use her accountant who is also a friend of her's,so hopefully we won't get ripped off,with charges.