I'm from the US I wanted to know if I sold a condo in the UK, what is the tax rate on the gain in the UK?

Answer 1

This used to be simple. The old rule was that if you are ordinarily resident in the UK in the year of sale you paid tax and if you weren't ordinarily resident, you didn't. Now they can tax you if you become ordinarily resident in the succeeding five years. This rule was brought in because the government perceived that people were making themselves Not Ordinarily Resident, selling something at a huge gain, not paying the tax and then becoming ordinarily resident again.

So your first task is to decide if you are Ordinarily Resident. Do you (or have you ever) lived in the UK? Do you visit on business? If so, how often? The rule of thumb is that you are ordinarily resident if you spend an average of 90 days per year over four years, but HMRC can argue that other things (such as owning a condo) make you ordinarily resident, even if you spend a day a year in the UK. Unless you are a pilot or a mariner, who have slightly more flexible rules.


The second thing to determine is if you have any reliefs to claim. Was it ever your Principal private Residence? Could it be argued that it was a business property? (Unlikely but think about it before discarding the idea.)

If you have to pay tax it will be at the rates as shown in the link below. I assume you are a US citizen, which means that you are taxable to the USA on worldwide income. If you have to pay any tax in the UK, you will be able to take a credit for the tax paid. The US tax code does not provide for very generous relief in many cases though.

Perhaps you should consider engaging a chartered accountant in the UK. There are a few things about this which are not easy to resolve without professional help. The second link is to a trade association of British chartered accountants which also has a few American members. So if you are living in the USA you could use an accountant here who has access to UK technical advice. The alternative is to go to one of the international firms.

Answer 2

If you are liable for capital gains tax in the UK 40%. If you are not UK domicile the rules change. Ask an accountant in the UK or Inland Revenue.