mickok

My wife and I are moving home to the UK after 30+ years in the US. We'll be putting our home in North Carolina on the market later this year. If we sell the house AFTER we move and become fully resident in the UK will we become liable for UK capital gains tax? I'm assuming not since this our primary (only) residence, but I just wanted to check whether the standard rules apply if the home being sold is located outside the UK..

dunroving

Are you planning to buy a house in the UK, and if so, is it possible you'll own two houses simultaneously for a while? This complicates things a little, but from some letters to the newspaper Money sections, I think you'd need to determine which of the two is your primary residence (or whatever the term is here) - AFAIK, you do get to choose, so you'd have the flexibility of choosing the one that puts you in the best situation, tax-wise.

I also think that if you switched it to a UK house and subsequently sold the NC house, it would count as your primary residence for a proprtional amount of any capital gains - so if you have lived in it for 20 yrs, switch your primary residence to a UK house, then sell your US house 2 years later, any capital gains would be reduced proprtionally (i.e., 2/22nds of the gains).

All this is vague recollection of a letter I read recently where the person inherited a house from his mum, wanted to make it his promary residence and keep his current house.

The Web site moneysavingexpert has a lot of good information on this sort of thing - and the HMRC site.

mickok

Thanks dunroving! Oops, I should have been clearer. We won't buy a home in the UK until after the sale of our US home is completed. So I don't think there will be any capital gains issue..

Thanks for the other links also! I'm still finding my way around these sites..

louie

If it has been your principal private residence throughout your ownership, it will be exempt from UK CGT as long as you sell within 3 years of moving out, regardless of what you do after it ceases to be your principal private residence.

pennylessinindia

That sounds interesting can you give a link for this . Could mean I sleep tonight

louie

HM Revenue & Customs page here

pennylessinindia

thanks very much!