Does moving to Scotland from England affect capital gains tax on properties?
Q I have a problem over what to do with a property in south-east England, which I bought outright for £190,000 at the end of 2014. Almost all the money for the purchase was provided by my father – who died in July 2020 – as a gift. Even though he died less than seven years after giving me the money, there was no inheritance tax to pay on it because his estate (including the gift) was valued at less than the £325,000 nil-rate band.
I am in the process of relocating to Scotland, with a view, once settled, to purchasing another property (this time with my partner) without selling my existing property. My plan for a while has been to rent out my current house – because of the disparity in property values, this should cover any mortgage payments on a new property and allow me to retain the English property as a retirement nest egg to sell 20 to 25 years down the line. I’m aware that I would be liable for capital gains tax (CGT) at that point, although I think I would be able to claim some relief for the years I was living in the house.
I’ve been told by family members recently that I shouldn’t pursue this option. Instead, I should look to sell the house in England right now and take the gain tax free, thus avoiding a tax bill down the line. They then suggested using some of the money to purchase another, cheaper property and use that as an asset for future income. When I pointed out that any increase in value of that property would also leave me liable for CGT, they seemed to think that my current property’s status as being bought with money received as a gift would leave me liable for a far higher bill, and also warned that I could get hit by something unforeseen in the differences in English and Scottish law. They say that a
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