Do you pay tax when you sell your house in the UK?

Written and reviewed by the South Yorkshire Property Buyers team. Last reviewed: 2 July 2026.

Selling your own home: usually no tax at all

If you are selling the property you live in as your only or main home, you will normally pay no Capital Gains Tax on the sale. This is because of a relief called Private Residence Relief (PRR), which exempts the gain on a property that has been your main home throughout the time you owned it. For most homeowners that covers the entire gain, so there is nothing to report and nothing to pay.

This is worth saying plainly, because a lot of people worry about it. If your house has gone up in value while you lived there and you now sell it, that increase is yours to keep. The taxman does not take a slice of the profit on your family home in the normal course of things. HMRC's own guidance confirms that you do not usually pay tax when you sell your main residence.

There are a few edge cases that can chip away at full relief, which we cover further down, but they affect a minority of sellers. For the vast majority of people selling the home they live in, the answer to "do I pay tax when I sell my house" is simply no.

What Private Residence Relief actually covers

Private Residence Relief exempts the part of the gain that relates to the period a property was your main home. If a property was your home for the whole time you owned it, and you did not use part of it exclusively for business, the relief usually wipes out the gain completely.

The relief also includes what is known as the final period exemption. Even if you had already moved out before the sale completed, the last 9 months of ownership still count as if the property were your main home. This is helpful if there is a gap between buying your next place and selling the old one, or if a sale takes a while to go through. You do not lose your relief just because you moved out a few months before completion.

Where it gets more nuanced is when a property was your home for part of the time and let out or left empty for another part. In that situation the gain is split proportionally, and only the portion tied to your period of occupation (plus the final 9 months) is exempt. If you have only ever lived in the property as your home, none of that applies to you and the full relief stands.

When Capital Gains Tax does apply

Capital Gains Tax on residential property comes into play when you sell a property that is not your main home. The two most common cases are a second home (for example a holiday home or a property you bought for a family member) and a buy-to-let that you rent out.

For the 2026 to 2027 tax year, the residential property CGT rates are 18% for basic-rate taxpayers, on any gain within the basic Income Tax band, and 24% for higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers. You only pay on the gain, not the whole sale price, and you can deduct allowable costs first, such as the stamp duty you paid when you bought, legal fees on purchase and sale, agent fees, and money spent on capital improvements like an extension or a new kitchen. There is also an annual tax-free allowance of £3,000 per person, so a jointly owned property gives two allowances.

If you sell a property that CGT applies to, you must report the gain and pay the tax to HMRC within 60 days of completion, using the online "Report Capital Gains Tax on UK property" service. This is a separate deadline from your normal self-assessment return. We go into the full calculation, a worked example, and the reliefs available in our detailed guide to Capital Gains Tax on a buy-to-let. If you own more than one property and are unsure which one counts as your main home for tax, that is exactly the kind of point worth checking with an accountant before you sell.

Does selling fast to a cash buyer change your tax position?

No. This is one of the most common worries we hear, and the answer is reassuring. Your tax position depends on what the property is (your main home versus a second home or rental) and on the gain you make, not on how you sell it or how quickly the sale completes.

If you are selling your main home, Private Residence Relief applies whether the sale takes six months on the open market or seven days with a cash buyer. Selling fast does not create a tax bill that would not otherwise exist. And if you are selling a second home or buy-to-let, the CGT calculation is exactly the same either way, because the gain is worked out from the sale price, purchase price and allowable costs, regardless of the type of buyer.

The one practical point is timing. Because CGT on a chargeable property is due 60 days after completion, a fast sale gives you a known, fixed completion date to work back from, which can actually make planning easier. If your sale happens to straddle the start of a new tax year, the completion date also determines which year the gain falls into, and therefore which year's allowance you use. For your main home, none of this matters, there is simply no tax to plan around.

What about Stamp Duty and other costs when you sell?

Stamp Duty Land Tax is paid by the buyer, not the seller. When you sell a property in England you do not pay Stamp Duty on the way out, so that is one tax you can put out of your mind entirely as a seller.

What you may have is other selling costs rather than taxes: estate agent fees if you sell on the open market, conveyancing and legal fees, and, if you still have a mortgage, the cost of redeeming it (and possibly an early repayment charge depending on your deal). Selling to a cash buyer typically removes agent fees, and a reputable buyer will often cover your legal costs, though the trade-off is a price usually in the region of 80 to 85% of full market value. We explain that trade-off honestly in our guide on how much cash buyers offer below market value.

If you are carrying a mortgage, it is worth understanding how the sale clears it. Our explainer on what happens to your mortgage when you sell your house walks through how the outstanding balance is repaid from the sale proceeds at completion.

Special situations: divorce, probate and inherited homes

A few life situations raise their own tax questions, and it helps to know where you stand.

Divorce or separation: the family home is usually still covered by Private Residence Relief for the person living in it, and transfers of property between spouses or civil partners are made on a no-gain-no-loss basis, so the transfer itself does not trigger CGT. Following reforms that took effect from April 2023, separating couples now have up to three tax years from the end of the year of separation to transfer property between them without a CGT charge. The rules can get technical where one person has already moved out, so it is worth reading our guide on whether you have to sell the house in a divorce and taking advice on timing.

Probate and inherited property: when you inherit a home you do not pay Capital Gains Tax at the point of inheriting. Any Inheritance Tax is a separate matter dealt with by the estate. If you later sell the inherited property, CGT is only charged on any increase in value between the date of death (the probate value) and the date you sell, so a reasonably prompt sale often means little or no gain. Our guide to selling a house during probate in South Yorkshire covers the process for executors in detail.

In all of these cases, the underlying principle holds: your main home is generally protected by Private Residence Relief, and CGT is a concern mainly for property that is not, or was not, your home.

Frequently asked questions

Do you pay tax when you sell your house in the UK?

Usually not, if it is the home you live in. Private Residence Relief normally covers the whole gain on your only or main home, so there is no Capital Gains Tax to pay and nothing to report. Tax typically only applies when you sell a second home or a buy-to-let.

What is Private Residence Relief?

It is a relief that exempts the gain on a property that has been your main home. If the property was your home throughout the time you owned it, the relief usually removes the entire gain from Capital Gains Tax. It also includes a final period exemption covering the last 9 months of ownership, even if you had already moved out.

When do I pay Capital Gains Tax on a property sale?

When you sell a property that is not your main home, such as a second home or a rental. For 2026 to 2027 the rates are 18% for basic-rate taxpayers and 24% for higher-rate taxpayers, on the gain after a £3,000 annual allowance and allowable costs. It must be reported and paid to HMRC within 60 days of completion.

Does selling to a cash buyer create a tax bill?

No. Your tax position depends on whether the property is your main home and on the gain you make, not on the type of buyer or the speed of the sale. If your main home is covered by Private Residence Relief, that applies whether you sell fast for cash or slowly on the open market.

Do I pay Stamp Duty when I sell my house?

No. Stamp Duty Land Tax is paid by the buyer, not the seller. When you sell you do not pay Stamp Duty. You may have other selling costs such as agent fees, legal fees or a mortgage early repayment charge, but those are not taxes.

Do I pay tax if I sell an inherited house?

You do not pay Capital Gains Tax at the point of inheriting; Inheritance Tax is handled separately by the estate. If you later sell, CGT applies only to any increase in value between the probate value at the date of death and the sale price, so a prompt sale often means little or no gain.

What happens to Capital Gains Tax during a divorce?

The family home is usually still protected by Private Residence Relief, and transfers between spouses or civil partners are made on a no-gain-no-loss basis. Since April 2023, separating couples have up to three tax years from the end of the year of separation to transfer property between them without triggering CGT.

Is this tax advice?

No. This is general information based on published HMRC and gov.uk rules. Every situation is different, especially where you own more than one property or a home has been let out. We recommend speaking to an accountant or chartered tax adviser before completing a sale where tax may apply.