Stamp Duty On House Moved Out Of Six Months Ago

[ricky12]

I moved out of my main house to my new property back in October 2009. I was planning to rent my old property out.
Having had all the work done on the house I have been advertising it for rent since Feb 2010 but have been unsucessful in getting a tenant.
Now with 40% CGT looming etc I have decided to sell the house and put the money towards my new house to help with the mortgage. As this was my main residence and since moving out I have not rented the property will I still have to pay CGT ?

Thanks in advance

[Sonners]

The last 3 years of ownership of a property that has been your principal private residence are exempt from CGT and so you would have until October 2012 to sell it without having to worry about CGT. This would still be the case even if you had successfully rented it. In fact, any gain attributable to a lettings period can be exempt also up to a maximum gain of £40,000.

If the rising rate of CGT is your main concern (rather than wanting the funds towards your new mortgage) then you should take face to face advice over this as you may find that the increase does not affect you as you think it will.

Although please bear in mind that other matters may arise in the Budget in June which could affect the above points.