UK Property

Should I sell or rent out my UK home when moving abroad?

Answered by Jordan Onraet-Wells, Founder & Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA). Published 17 July 2026. Last reviewed 17 July 2026.

The short answer

On UK tax alone, selling usually beats letting if you complete before you leave or within about nine months of moving out, because Private Residence Relief plus the final nine months exemption often reduces the gain to nil. Renting it out keeps you in the UK tax net every year: 20% is withheld from the rent under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme unless HMRC approves gross payment, and each full tax year abroad erodes the relief on an eventual sale. Letting can still win if the yield is strong, the mortgage is small, or you plan to move back in.

Sell while Private Residence Relief covers the home and the Capital Gains Tax bill is often nil; the final 9 months of ownership qualify even after you move out.
Once non-resident, you must report any sale of UK property to HMRC within 60 days of completion, even if no tax is due; missing the deadline triggers an automatic £100 penalty.
Residential CGT for 2026/27 is 18% within your unused basic rate band and 24% above it, after a £3,000 annual exempt amount per person.
Rent the house out and your letting agent, or a tenant paying over £100 a week, must withhold 20% under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme unless HMRC approves your NRL1 application.
Mortgage interest is not deductible from rental profit; Section 24 gives only a 20% basic rate tax reduction, which hits higher rate taxpayers hardest.
Each full tax year abroad usually fails the 90-day occupation test, so the longer you let, the larger the taxable slice of your eventual gain.

Why selling early usually wins on tax

If the property has been your only or main home throughout, Private Residence Relief normally covers the whole gain, and the final nine months count even after you move out. Once non-resident, a tax year only counts as occupation if you, your spouse or civil partner spend at least 90 days in the home, which most people abroad cannot do. Every let year therefore shrinks the exempt fraction: a house that was tax free in year one can carry a real CGT bill by year five.

The traps people miss

Non-residents must report every disposal of UK property to HMRC within 60 days of completion, even with full relief and no tax due; UK residents only file when tax is payable, which catches leavers out. Letting adds annual Self Assessment with the SA109 residence pages, no deduction for mortgage interest under Section 24, and quarterly Making Tax Digital updates once gross rents pass £50,000 from April 2026 (£30,000 from April 2027). Our non-resident CGT guide walks through the 60-day return.

How to decide

Run real numbers before you fly: a Private Residence Relief calculation on a sale now, against projected rental profit after Section 24 plus the extra CGT on a later sale. Sell if the gain is large and your reason for keeping the house is weak; let if the yield is strong, profits sit under the £12,570 Personal Allowance most British nationals keep abroad, or you plan to move back in. The full comparison, including 5 April 2015 rebasing for pre-2015 purchases, is in our sell versus rent guide.

Go deeper

Sources and further reading

This is general information for the 2026/27 UK tax year, not personal tax advice; speak to a Chartered Tax Adviser about your own position.

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