Landlords
The 60-day CGT rule: the deadline landlords keep missing
Sell a UK residential property at a taxable gain and you must report it and pay the tax within 60 days of completion — through a separate HMRC service, not your tax return. Miss it and there's an automatic £100 penalty before anyone has spoken to you. It's the single most commonly missed deadline we see among landlords.
Why people miss it
Because it feels wrong. Every other tax event in a landlord's year lands on the self assessment return by 31 January. This one doesn't. Your solicitor won't do it for you — conveyancers handle the property, not your tax. So the sale completes, the money arrives, life moves on, and the clock quietly runs out.
The mechanics
The 60 days run from completion, not exchange. Reporting is done through HMRC's Capital Gains Tax on UK property account, accessed via Government Gateway — a different system from self assessment. You pay an estimate of the tax then, and reconcile the exact figure later on your return.
What you'll pay
For 2026/27, residential property gains are taxed at 18% where they fall in the basic-rate band and 24% in the higher-rate band. The gain stacks on top of your other income to decide which applies, so a large gain often straddles both. The annual exempt amount is £3,000 — down from £12,300 four years ago, which is why far more disposals now produce a bill than landlords expect.
When you don't need to file
If the gain is fully covered by Private Residence Relief (it was your main home throughout), or by losses, or falls within the £3,000 exemption, no 60-day return is needed. But "I assumed it was covered" is not a defence — if there's any doubt, calculate it before the 60 days run, not after.
The penalties
£100 immediately. Then £300 (or 5% of the tax, if higher) at six months, and another £300 at twelve — plus interest on the unpaid tax throughout. All of it avoidable with a phone call on the day you accept an offer.
What to do instead
Tell your accountant when the sale is agreed, not when it completes. That gives time to gather the base cost, improvement costs and selling fees, model the gain, use both spouses' allowances if the property is jointly held, and file comfortably inside the window. If you're selling a rental in Leeds this year, that conversation takes twenty minutes and routinely saves four figures.
This is general information, not advice for your circumstances. If you'd like it applied to your situation, get in touch — the first chat is free.
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