Non-Resident Landlord Capital Gains Tax: Do You Owe It?

If you’re a non-resident landlord and you sell, gift, or otherwise dispose of UK property at a profit, you’re liable for non-resident Capital Gains Tax (NRCGT) on the gain.

That’s true even though you’ve moved away. This has applied to residential property since 6 April 2015. It was extended to commercial property and indirect disposals from 6 April 2019. You need to report the disposal to HMRC within 60 days of completion, whether or not there’s tax to pay.

Selling a rental property from abroad catches a lot of landlords out. Not because the tax itself is complicated, but because the rules have shifted several times since 2015.

A good chunk of what’s written about non-resident landlord capital gains tax online is now out of date. HMRC brought non-residents into the UK Capital Gains Tax net for residential property from April 2015.

That widened to commercial property and company-owned property from April 2019. The rates have moved too, most recently in April 2024, when the higher rate on residential property gains dropped from 28% to 24%.

None of this is optional paperwork, either. Even landlords with no tax to pay still have to tell HMRC about the sale, and missing the deadline brings automatic penalties regardless of how straightforward the sale was.

The rest of this guide covers what’s owed, how the gain is calculated, and the steps involved in capital gains tax selling UK property from abroad.

Non-Resident Landlord Capital Gains Tax: Who’s Liable

Non-resident capital gains tax on buy to let property is the most common scenario landlords run into.

But the same rules cover inherited property that’s been let out, and land or business premises too. The property doesn’t need a live tenancy at the point of sale — just a history of being let rather than lived in as a main home.

Property is treated differently from other UK assets for non-residents. Whether CGT applies to shares, cryptoassets, or other UK investments comes down to residency status under HMRC’s statutory residence test.

Non-residents usually sit outside that net entirely. Property is the exception. Since 6 April 2015, non-residents have paid CGT on UK residential property gains.

Since 6 April 2019, that’s extended to commercial property, mixed-use property, and indirect disposals. NRCGT UK property rules now cover almost every type of UK property disposal by a non-resident.

One distinction worth flagging early: this applies to individuals, trustees, and personal representatives. Non-resident companies don’t pay Capital Gains Tax on UK property gains at all.

They pay Corporation Tax instead, reported through a different route. Broader guidance on capital gains tax for non UK residents, covering assets beyond property, sits on GOV.UK separately from the property-specific rules covered here.

HMRC’s guidance on non-resident Capital Gains Tax on UK property sets out the full scope of who’s affected.

Current Non-Resident CGT Rates and Allowance

The rate paid depends on total UK taxable income and gains for the year:

• 18% — where gains, added to income, stay within the basic rate band.
• 24% — on the portion that falls above the basic rate threshold.

These rates have applied to residential property gains since 6 April 2024, down from a previous higher rate of 28%. They’re unchanged for the 2026/27 tax year. Non-resident CGT rates for other UK assets can differ.

Before working out which band applies, there’s an annual exempt amount (AEA) — a slice of gain each tax year that’s tax-free.

The AEA has fallen sharply in recent years: £12,300 up to 2022/23, £6,000 in 2023/24, and £3,000 from 2024/25 onwards.

It remains at £3,000 for 2026/27, effectively the non resident landlord CGT allowance for the year. The Tax Rebate Services’ capital gains tax allowance guide covers how the AEA works in more detail.

If the property is owned jointly, each owner gets their own AEA against their share of the gain. Check whether only one owner has used theirs, since splitting property ownership between joint owners can sometimes reduce the combined bill.

Working Out Your Taxable Gain on the Property

The bit most people miss is that the gain isn’t simply what a property sold for minus what it cost. If the property was owned before the rules changed, HMRC allows a choice in how the gain is measured. Picking the right method can make a real difference to the bill.

For residential property owned before 6 April 2015, there are three options:

• Rebasing to April 2015 (the default) — only the increase in value from 5 April 2015 to the sale date is taxable.
• Time apportionment — the whole gain over the ownership period is spread proportionally, with only the post-2015 share taxed.
• Whole-period gain — the entire gain from purchase to sale is used, usually only worth choosing if it produces a loss.

For commercial property, mixed-use property, and indirect disposals, the same principle applies. The rebasing date just moves to 5 April 2019 instead. Use GOV.UK’s guidance on calculating the taxable gain sets out the full method with worked examples.

As an illustration: a flat was bought for £750,000 in 2011, and was worth £1,000,000 by 5 April 2015. It sold for a net £1,220,000 in 2026. Under rebasing, the taxable gain is £220,000 (the growth since April 2015) rather than the £470,000 gain made over the whole period of ownership.

Losses on the property itself work the same way. They still have to be reported to HMRC, and can be set against other UK property gains in the same tax year, or carried forward to use later.

That’s different from losses made on rental income while letting the property, which follow their own rules — see offsetting rental losses against other income for how those are treated.

The Tax Rebate Services’ landlord capital gains tax guide covers the capital gains calculation in more detail.

Reporting Non-Resident Capital Gains Tax to HMRC

Every disposal has to be reported to HMRC, even if there’s no tax to pay or the sale made a loss. The reporting window has changed over the years, which is where a lot of outdated advice trips people up.

Older guidance about reporting property disposal to HMRC 30 days after completion is a common source of confusion.

That was the rule only between April 2020 and October 2021. Since 27 October 2021, the deadline has been 60 days.

To file a non-resident capital gains tax return and pay what’s owed:

• Use HMRC’s Capital Gains Tax on UK property service, or have an agent report on your behalf through it.
• Have the completion date, sale price, purchase details, and improvement costs ready before starting.
• Pay the estimated tax at the same time as reporting — the figure can be amended later if the final Self Assessment calculation differs.

Missing the 60-day window brings automatic penalties and interest, even if the eventual tax bill turns out to be zero. Report as soon as the sale completes, rather than waiting until the tax return is due.

What Happens If You’re Only Temporarily Non-Resident

Temporarily non-resident capital gains tax rules exist to stop a short spell abroad being used to realise gains tax-free.

Being non-resident doesn’t always mean sitting outside the CGT net for good. For many landlords, capital gains tax when moving abroad isn’t the clean break it might seem.

The rules apply if both of the following are true:

• UK residence for at least 4 of the 7 tax years immediately before leaving.
• Return to UK residence within 5 years of leaving, measured in actual elapsed time rather than tax years.

If both apply, gains made on assets while abroad are treated as arising in the tax year UK residence resumes, and taxed at that year’s rates. That includes UK property, where it wasn’t already taxed under the non-resident rules described above.

Anyone planning a return to the UK within five years of leaving should factor this in before selling. The timing of a disposal can genuinely change what’s owed.

Non-Resident Landlord Capital Gains Tax on Self Assessment

Non-resident self assessment capital gains reporting sits alongside the 60-day report, not instead of it. Anyone registered for Self Assessment still needs to include the property disposal on their return for the year.

That’s not duplication for its own sake. The Self Assessment return is where the final tax position gets confirmed, alongside the rest of that year’s UK income.

The SA108 non-resident capital gains section of the supplementary pages covers this. The reference number from the online property return needs entering in the additional information section, so HMRC can match the two up.

Figures can change between the original report and the Self Assessment return, usually because final UK income for the year turned out different from the original estimate. Where that happens, the difference gets paid or reclaimed at that point.

Anyone not usually in Self Assessment doesn’t get automatically registered just by selling a property. The 60-day report may be all that’s required.

Check HMRC’s guidance for the specific circumstances involved, though, since a handful of situations still call for a full return.

Before You Sell: Your Next Step

Non-resident landlord capital gains tax comes down to three things: the right calculation method, the correct rate and allowance, and reporting the disposal within 60 days.

Get those three right, and CGT on UK property after leaving UK becomes largely paperwork, rather than a mystery.

So much has changed since 2015 — rates, deadlines, and reliefs alike. Checking the current position on GOV.UK before completing a sale beats relying on older guidance found elsewhere.

Tax Rebate Services’ general capital gains tax guide covers how the same underlying rules apply to UK residents — useful background if residency status might change before the sale completes.

Key Takeaways

• Non-resident landlords pay Capital Gains Tax on UK property gains — residential since April 2015, commercial and indirect disposals since April 2019.
• Current rates are 18% (basic rate) and 24% (higher rate), with a £3,000 annual exempt amount for 2026/27. See the current Capital Gains Tax rates and allowances for the full breakdown.
• Property owned before the rules changed can usually be rebased to April 2015 or April 2019, rather than taxing the whole ownership period.
• Every disposal must be reported to HMRC within 60 days of completion, even where no tax is due.
• Temporarily non-resident landlords who return to the UK within 5 years can still be taxed on gains made while away.
• Non-resident companies pay Corporation Tax on property gains, not Capital Gains Tax.

Common Non-Resident Landlord Capital Gains Tax Questions

The following questions cover situations not addressed in the sections above, drawn from HMRC’s non-resident Capital Gains Tax guidance and Self Assessment helpsheets.

Does the UK have a “6-year rule” like Australia’s capital gains tax exemption?

No. The Australian “six-year rule” lets former homeowners rent out a property for up to six years before losing their main-residence exemption — there’s no direct UK equivalent. UK Private Residence Relief works differently. It covers the period a property was genuinely a main home, plus a fixed final period of ownership, regardless of how long it was let out afterwards.

Landlords who’ve seen the Australian rule mentioned online sometimes assume something similar applies here. It doesn’t, and relying on that assumption can lead to a larger gain being taxed than expected.

What if the property was lived in before it was let out?

If the property was a main home at any point, part of the gain may be covered by Private Residence Relief, even after moving abroad and letting it out. Relief generally applies for the period it was lived in, plus a final period of ownership before sale.

Letting Relief, which used to extend this further, has been largely unavailable since April 2020 unless occupancy was shared with a tenant. GOV.UK sets out the detail. Where the property was ever a home, this can meaningfully reduce the taxable gain.

Does the sale still need reporting if it made a loss?

Yes. The 60-day reporting requirement applies whether the sale produced a gain, a loss, or exactly broke even. There’s no exemption from reporting just because no tax is due.

Reporting a loss also has a practical benefit: it allows the loss to be carried forward against a UK property gain in a future tax year. Losses that are never reported to HMRC can’t later be used to reduce a tax bill. Completing the report matters, even when nothing is owed.

Do these rules apply if the rental property is owned through a company?

Not directly. Non-resident companies pay Corporation Tax on UK property gains rather than Capital Gains Tax, and the gain is reported through a Corporation Tax return instead of the individual routes described above.

Where the company isn’t already registered for Corporation Tax, that registration needs arranging separately before a disposal completes. The distinction matters because the rates, deadlines, and forms involved are different from those that apply to an individual landlord.

Is relief available if the sale is also taxed in the country lived in now?

Possibly. Many of the UK’s double taxation treaties determine which country has the primary right to tax a UK property disposal. Where a treaty exempts the gain from UK tax, that exemption has to be claimed through a UK tax return rather than assumed automatically.

Where both countries do tax the sale, a foreign tax credit may reduce the double hit. The details depend entirely on the treaty with the specific country involved, so the position needs checking against that country specifically.