The 60 Day Capital Gains Tax Property Return: What Landlords Must Report and When

If you sell a UK residential property at a gain, you have 60 days from the date of completion to report the disposal to HMRC and pay the capital gains tax due. The 60 day window applies to disposals completing on or after 27 October 2021, extended from the 30 days that applied before that date. For 2026 to 2027, individuals pay capital gains tax at 18% or 24% depending on where the gain sits against the income tax bands, after an annual exempt amount of £3,000. Filing late triggers an automatic £100 penalty, rising to the greater of 5% of the tax and £300 once the return is more than six months late, and again at twelve months. Non-UK residents must report every disposal of UK property or land within 60 days, even where there is no tax to pay.

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The 60 day return catches people out because it sits outside the normal Self Assessment rhythm. A landlord who has always dealt with tax once a year, in January, can complete a sale in March and be several months late before the tax return season even starts. The deadline runs from completion, not from the end of the tax year, and HMRC does not send a reminder.

Who has to file a 60 day return?

A UK resident must file where the disposal of a UK residential property produces capital gains tax to pay. That covers buy to let property, second homes, inherited property that has risen in value since the date of death, and property that was let for part of the ownership period. Where a property is mixed use, only the portion of the gain that is the residential property gain is reported and paid under the 60 day rule.

What about non-UK residents?

The obligation is wider. A non-UK resident must report a disposal of UK property or land within 60 days even if there is no tax to pay on it, and even if the disposal produced a loss. That applies to residential and non-residential UK land alike, which is the opposite of the position for UK residents.

When is no return needed?

For a UK resident, the filing requirement is triggered by there being a capital gains tax liability. If the gain is fully covered by relief or by the annual exempt amount so that no tax is due, no property disposal return is required. That is a judgement made on the figures, and it is worth having the calculation on file rather than assuming, because the difference between no return and a late return is a penalty.

60 day return or Self Assessment: which one applies?

Both, in most cases. The 60 day return is filed through HMRC’s Capital Gains Tax on UK property account and produces a payment on account of the tax. Where the person also completes a Self Assessment return for that tax year, HMRC’s guidance is that the gains, losses and tax charges already reported in the property account should also be included in the Self Assessment return, so that the property disposal sits alongside the rest of the year’s income and gains in one calculation.

That has two practical consequences. The Self Assessment return can produce a different final figure once the whole year is known, leaving either more tax to pay or an overpayment to recover. And filing the January return does not cure a missed 60 day return; the earlier obligation stood on its own.

What are the penalties for filing late?

A property disposal return under Schedule 2 to the Finance Act 2019 falls within the late filing penalty regime in Schedule 55 to the Finance Act 2009. The fixed penalty for missing the deadline is £100. If the failure continues beyond six months, a further penalty applies of the greater of 5% of the tax that should have been shown in the return and £300. At twelve months a further penalty of the same shape applies, and it rises sharply where HMRC concludes information was deliberately withheld. Interest also runs on tax paid late.

The pattern to notice is that the penalties are indifferent to whether the delay was innocent. A seller who simply did not know the deadline existed is in the same position as one who chose to wait. Our guide to HMRC penalties for tax return errors covers how behaviour affects the separate penalties for getting the figures wrong.

How is the tax worked out?

The chargeable gain is the disposal proceeds less the acquisition cost, the incidental costs of buying and selling, and the cost of capital improvements, then reduced by any relief that applies. Private residence relief removes the gain on a property that has been the seller’s only or main home throughout, which is why most ordinary house sales produce nothing to report. Where a property has been let for part of the period, the relief is restricted and a chargeable gain usually remains.

For 2026 to 2027 the annual exempt amount is £3,000 and the rates for individuals are 18% and 24%, applied by reference to where the gain falls once added to income. The rate split is why the same gain can cost two different landlords materially different amounts in the same year.

Why HMRC looks closely at property disposals

Property is one of the easiest areas for HMRC to check, because the data arrives from elsewhere. Land Registry records, letting agent returns and deposit scheme data give HMRC a view of who owns what and who is letting it, which it can match against returns filed. Landlords with undeclared rental income have a dedicated route to put things right through the Let Property Campaign, and where HMRC believes there is an issue it often opens with a compliance check letter rather than a formal investigation.

A capital gains enquiry is rarely a single question. Valuations, improvement costs claimed decades ago, periods of occupation and the split between residential and non-residential use all take evidence to support, and assembling that evidence is professional time that has to be paid for.

Where cover fits

Tax fee protection insurance, also called tax investigation insurance, covers the accountancy and professional fees of dealing with an HMRC enquiry or compliance check, rather than the tax itself. For landlords, whose returns carry both rental income and periodic disposals, that is the exposure that turns a routine check into an unbudgeted bill. Our guide to tax investigation insurance for landlords sets out how the cover works.

If you would like to talk it through, you can get a quote or contact us. Accountancy practices looking to offer the cover to their own clients can read about our accountant schemes.