Personal Solicitors Ipswich – Changes to principal private residence relief for capital gains tax
From 6th April 2014 the final exemption period for Principal Private Residence Relief (PPR) in relation to capital gains tax with regard to property, is to be reduced from 36 months to 18 months. This will have implications particularly for second homeowners. It is also relevant to those who move house and buy before they sell, so they have a period owning two houses. It is also relevant to people who own a house as their main residence and then let it for part of the time they own it. Originally the 36 month period was introduced so that a person, who, for example, had to relocate for work purposes to another part of the country, would not be disadvantaged. If that person could not sell his old main residence immediately, a window of opportunity of 3 years was available to sell the property free of capital gains tax as PPR would be available, even though they owned another house that had become their main home. From 2014 this will be reduced to 18 months.
James Skellorn is a personal solicitor at Barker Gotelee, solicitors in Suffolk
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