Capital gains on the sale of residential property remain chargeable at 18% for basic rate taxpayers and 28% for higher rate taxpayers.
In both cases, a hybrid rate applies where part of the gain is taxed at the lower rate and part at the higher rate.
The capital gains tax annual exemption increased to £11,700 for the current tax year ending 5 April 2019 and rises again to £12,000 from 6 April 2019.
Couples should consider transferring shares in assets between them to save capital gains tax by using their annual exemption each year to uplift their tax costs. This can be done by selling and then either buying a different company share or buying back the shares in the name of the other person or within an ISA.
As with any planning, advice should be sought before proceeding, in this case to ensure that the ‘anti bed and breakfasting’ rules do not apply.
