dfjordan

I can´t imagine they aren´t, but want to be sure they are. The question is if a UK tax resident is taxable on gains on exchange that he made arising from buying property abroad at one rate and selling it at another rate ( ie gaining on the devaluation of Sterling

Posidrive

If you are UK resident for tax purposes then as far as I understand it you would only be taxed on the gain between the day you sold the property and recieved the funds and the day that you transfered the money back to the UK. At least that was the case when we sold our Canadian house, although that was our primary residence.

If you are buying and selling investement properties then exchange rate variations will probaly be factored into any capital gains tax because the gain will be based upon the value of the property in sterling on the dates of each transaction. From that perspective now is not a good time to sell because sterling is so weak.

dfjordan

Thanks for the help; your reply sounds logical. The fact though that Sterling is weak, makes it a very good time to sell a foreign property. The one I´m thinking about was bought in NZ when it was NZ$2.60 and now it´s NZ$1.93, so there´s a +/- 35% profit before even taking into account the increase in the value of the house. ( What a pity I didn´t also buy a place !!!)

Posidrive

You are probably right. My comment that now is not a good time to sell is purely from the perspective of give the tax man as little as possible. Depending upon your personal circumstances you could loose over a quarter of this gain to the tax man

dfjordan

That´s why I was concerned about the tax side. I can take measures to avoid these gains if necessary, as I´ve never believed in the principle of being taxed on the fruits of taking risks, as they never give you any back if you lose!.