UK Capital Gains Tax when selling overseas home.
May 11th 2012, 3:45 am
#1
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Joined: May 2012
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UK Capital Gains Tax when selling overseas home.
I'm a British citizen, living and working in Singapore for the past ten years, and non-resident for UK tax purposes for all that time. I may return permanently to the UK soon.
I am wondering what the UK tax implications might be, if any, if I sold my Singapore home after I returned to the UK, rather than before? I do not own any home in the UK.
My worst fear is that some or all of the gains in the value of my Singapore home since I bought it in 2007 would be subject to UK capital gains tax, even if I sold it just a few months after returning to the UK.
Does anyone know what the rules are? Thanks.
I am wondering what the UK tax implications might be, if any, if I sold my Singapore home after I returned to the UK, rather than before? I do not own any home in the UK.
My worst fear is that some or all of the gains in the value of my Singapore home since I bought it in 2007 would be subject to UK capital gains tax, even if I sold it just a few months after returning to the UK.
Does anyone know what the rules are? Thanks.
May 11th 2012, 4:19 am
#2
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Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Scotland, just!
Posts: 2,053
Re: UK Capital Gains Tax when selling overseas home.
I'm a British citizen, living and working in Singapore for the past ten years, and non-resident for UK tax purposes for all that time. I may return permanently to the UK soon.
I am wondering what the UK tax implications might be, if any, if I sold my Singapore home after I returned to the UK, rather than before? I do not own any home in the UK.
My worst fear is that some or all of the gains in the value of my Singapore home since I bought it in 2007 would be subject to UK capital gains tax, even if I sold it just a few months after returning to the UK.
Does anyone know what the rules are? Thanks.
I am wondering what the UK tax implications might be, if any, if I sold my Singapore home after I returned to the UK, rather than before? I do not own any home in the UK.
My worst fear is that some or all of the gains in the value of my Singapore home since I bought it in 2007 would be subject to UK capital gains tax, even if I sold it just a few months after returning to the UK.
Does anyone know what the rules are? Thanks.
If I sell my principal residence before leaving Canada there is no CGT payable.
If I don't sell before I leave I need to get a written market evaluation, probably from a realtor, on the day I leave Canada. If my principal residence is then deemed to be in the UK, after the date of leaving Canada, then I will be subject to CGT on the any increase in value following the date I left at the date of sale.. I will not pay CGT on the increase in value from the original date of purchase to date of leaving.
I also have to file a form with the Canadian Revenue Agency.
Hope this makes sense, even though it is not specific to Signapore. Are principal residences exempt from CGT in Signapore?
May 11th 2012, 5:25 pm
#3
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Posts: 9
Re: UK Capital Gains Tax when selling overseas home.
I can't speak for Signapore, but the professional advice that I have been given, from a Canada/UK perspective is:
If I sell my principal residence before leaving Canada there is no CGT payable.
If I don't sell before I leave I need to get a written market evaluation, probably from a realtor, on the day I leave Canada. If my principal residence is then deemed to be in the UK, after the date of leaving Canada, then I will be subject to CGT on the any increase in value following the date I left at the date of sale.. I will not pay CGT on the increase in value from the original date of purchase to date of leaving.
I also have to file a form with the Canadian Revenue Agency.
Hope this makes sense, even though it is not specific to Signapore. Are principal residences exempt from CGT in Signapore?
If I sell my principal residence before leaving Canada there is no CGT payable.
If I don't sell before I leave I need to get a written market evaluation, probably from a realtor, on the day I leave Canada. If my principal residence is then deemed to be in the UK, after the date of leaving Canada, then I will be subject to CGT on the any increase in value following the date I left at the date of sale.. I will not pay CGT on the increase in value from the original date of purchase to date of leaving.
I also have to file a form with the Canadian Revenue Agency.
Hope this makes sense, even though it is not specific to Signapore. Are principal residences exempt from CGT in Signapore?
May 12th 2012, 1:14 am
#4
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 12
Re: UK Capital Gains Tax when selling overseas home.
Thanks If1 and Markusha for your replies. Soon after I posted to this forum, I sent the same question to what seems to be a free online UK tax advice service, and this is the reply I got:
"Provided you have lived in the Singapore property as your main home since the date of acquisition, if you dispose of it within 3 years after ceasing to use it as the main home, under the UK Principle Private Residence rules, the gain will be exempt from UK taxation, even if you dispose of it as a UK resident."
That seems to make sense and, in my case at least, because I don't have any UK home to return to, there should be no dispute that, by default, my Singapore home will be deemed to be my Principle Private Residence.
By this logic, If1, the same should apply for Canada as well as anywhere else. The complication arises, I guess, if one still owns a UK home when one returns.
"Provided you have lived in the Singapore property as your main home since the date of acquisition, if you dispose of it within 3 years after ceasing to use it as the main home, under the UK Principle Private Residence rules, the gain will be exempt from UK taxation, even if you dispose of it as a UK resident."
That seems to make sense and, in my case at least, because I don't have any UK home to return to, there should be no dispute that, by default, my Singapore home will be deemed to be my Principle Private Residence.
By this logic, If1, the same should apply for Canada as well as anywhere else. The complication arises, I guess, if one still owns a UK home when one returns.
May 12th 2012, 1:28 am
#5
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Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Scotland, just!
Posts: 2,053
Re: UK Capital Gains Tax when selling overseas home.
Thanks If1 and Markusha for your replies. Soon after I posted to this forum, I sent the same question to what seems to be a free online UK tax advice service, and this is the reply I got:
"Provided you have lived in the Singapore property as your main home since the date of acquisition, if you dispose of it within 3 years after ceasing to use it as the main home, under the UK Principle Private Residence rules, the gain will be exempt from UK taxation, even if you dispose of it as a UK resident."
That seems to make sense and, in my case at least, because I don't have any UK home to return to, there should be no dispute that, by default, my Singapore home will be deemed to be my Principle Private Residence.
By this logic, If1, the same should apply for Canada as well as anywhere else. The complication arises, I guess, if one still owns a UK home when one returns.
"Provided you have lived in the Singapore property as your main home since the date of acquisition, if you dispose of it within 3 years after ceasing to use it as the main home, under the UK Principle Private Residence rules, the gain will be exempt from UK taxation, even if you dispose of it as a UK resident."
That seems to make sense and, in my case at least, because I don't have any UK home to return to, there should be no dispute that, by default, my Singapore home will be deemed to be my Principle Private Residence.
By this logic, If1, the same should apply for Canada as well as anywhere else. The complication arises, I guess, if one still owns a UK home when one returns.
Which online tax service are you using?
