The 60-Day CGT Reporting Rule for Non-Residents: Three Worked Examples

The rule catches individuals, trustees and personal representatives, on residential property, commercial property and certain indirect disposals of shares in property-rich companies. HMRC's guidance is explicit that you must report even if you have no tax to pay, made a loss, or are already registered for Self Assessment. A disposal is wider than a sale: gifts and transfers into trust count too.

The 60-day deadline applies to completions on or after 27 October 2021 (it was 30 days between 6 April 2020 and 26 October 2021). Compare residents and non-residents:

Whether you are non-resident for the year is decided by the Statutory Residence Test, so anyone selling in the year they leave or return to the UK should pin that down before completion.

You report through HMRC's online Capital Gains Tax on UK property account (GOV.UK). You need a Government Gateway user ID, which non-residents can create even without a National Insurance number. Once the return is submitted, HMRC issues a 14-character payment reference starting with X, and you pay using that reference within the same 60 days.

• Have ready: completion date, proceeds, the original cost or 5 April 2015 value, improvement costs, and buying and selling fees.
• An agent such as Horizon can file for you through an agent-linked account, often the fastest route from overseas.
• If you cannot report online, HMRC provides a paper form on request; build in postal time, because the deadline does not move.

Filing and paying are two halves of one deadline. A return filed on day 59 with tax paid on day 70 still attracts interest on the late payment, so treat payment as part of the conveyancing timetable.

For residential property you owned before 6 April 2015, HMRC accepts three computation methods (GOV.UK), and the choice can change the bill materially.

• Rebasing (the default): treat the property as acquired at its 5 April 2015 market value, so only growth since that date is taxed. A credible 2015 valuation is essential.
• Straight-line time apportionment: work out the gain over the whole ownership period, then tax only the fraction of time falling after 5 April 2015.
• Whole-period gain: use the original cost over the entire ownership. This usually gives the biggest gain, so it mainly matters where the disposal is a loss.

You can elect out of the default where another method gives a better result, but the election is irrevocable for that disposal, so compare all three before filing. Commercial property and indirect disposals rebase to 5 April 2019 instead, and only two methods are available there: rebasing or the whole-period gain, as time apportionment is not an option. Our CGT property calculator gives a quick first estimate.

These figures are illustrative only. An expat in Dubai bought a Manchester house in July 2008 for £180,000 and lived in it as her main home until she moved abroad on 5 April 2021. She sells it with completion on 5 July 2026 for £430,000, with £6,000 of selling costs. A surveyor values the house at £334,000 on 5 April 2015.

• Step 1, rebased gain: £430,000 less £334,000 less £6,000 = £90,000.
• Step 2, relief period: because she uses rebasing, Private Residence Relief is measured over the period from 6 April 2015 to completion, which is 135 months.
• Step 3, qualifying months: she occupied the house for 72 months (6 April 2015 to 5 April 2021). Her years in Dubai fail the 90-day occupation test, so they do not count, but the final 9 months of ownership qualify automatically (GOV.UK). Qualifying months: 72 + 9 = 81.
• Step 4, relief: £90,000 x 81/135 = £54,000, leaving a chargeable gain of £36,000.
• Step 5, annual exempt amount: £36,000 less £3,000 = £33,000 taxable.
• Step 6, tax: she has no other UK income and a full £37,700 basic rate band, so the whole £33,000 is taxed at 18% = £5,940.

She must file and pay by 3 September 2026, 60 days after completion. Her adviser also modelled time apportionment and the whole-period method; both produced higher chargeable gains, so the default stood. Selling sooner would have been cheaper, as our sell versus rent guide explains: every full year abroad erodes the relief.

Again illustrative. A retiree in Perth moved to Australia in January 2026 and sells his former UK home, his main residence throughout ownership, with completion on 15 May 2026. Because the sale completes within 9 months of moving out, Private Residence Relief plus the final 9 months exemption covers the entire gain. UK tax bill: £0.

He must still file the 60-day return by 14 July 2026: non-residents report every disposal of UK land regardless of outcome, while a UK resident in the identical position would have nothing to file. If he forgets, HMRC charges the automatic £100 penalty even though no tax was at stake, and the penalties keep growing at 6 and 12 months.

The same duty applies to losses. Had he sold for less than his base cost, the return would still be due, and filing it is how the loss gets onto the record so it can be set against future gains on UK property. Skipping the return because there is nothing to pay is the most common mistake we see sellers abroad make.

Illustrative once more. A consultant in Singapore bought a UK buy-to-let flat in June 2017 for £250,000 and never lived in it, so there is no Private Residence Relief and no rebasing (the flat was bought after 5 April 2015). She sells with completion on 1 September 2026 for £320,000, with £10,000 of combined buying and selling costs. She also expects £22,570 of UK rental profit in 2026/27 and, as a British citizen, keeps the £12,570 personal allowance.

• Step 1, gain: £320,000 less £250,000 less £10,000 = £60,000.
• Step 2, annual exempt amount: £60,000 less £3,000 = £57,000 taxable.
• Step 3, remaining basic rate band: rental profit £22,570 less the £12,570 personal allowance leaves £10,000 of taxable income, so £37,700 less £10,000 = £27,700 of band is unused.
• Step 4, 18% slice: £27,700 x 18% = £4,986 (GOV.UK rates).
• Step 5, 24% slice: the remaining £29,300 x 24% = £7,032.
• Step 6, total CGT: £4,986 + £7,032 = £12,018, payable by 31 October 2026.

She estimates her 2026/27 income in the 60-day return, since the year is not over at completion; if the estimate proves wrong, Self Assessment trues it up later. Note how valuable the band is: with no other UK income she would have paid 18% on £37,700 of the same gain.

The penalty structure applies per return, whether or not tax was due.

The £10 daily penalties familiar from Self Assessment are not charged on these property returns, but the 6 and 12 month charges bite hard on larger gains because they scale with the tax. Reasonable excuse is a narrow escape route: being abroad or not knowing the rule rarely qualifies. If you have already missed the deadline, file now to stop the escalation.

The 60-day return does not replace your annual filing. If you are in Self Assessment, the disposal goes on your return too, with credit for the tax already paid; overpayments are usually recovered there. If not, the 60-day return may be your only filing, though non-resident landlords selling a let property will normally have a final rental return as well. Horizon handles the valuation, method comparison, 60-day return and Self Assessment reconciliation as one fixed-fee job, with non-resident and expat returns from £550.