Postby AGoodman » Wed Jan 02, 2019 5:15 pm
No sign that the changes have been or will be abandoned. No apparent consultation as yet but the Govt is a little busy at the moment on the subject that will not be mentioned. It is always possible that the idea will be dropped if the Govt (or maybe just the Chancellor) changes but otherwise I would expect it to run its course.
The only way to work out your best strategy is to run the numbers for each possibility but bear in mind that:
- lettings relief is limited to £40,000 of gain in total
- tax is calculated on a tax year basis so if you are a higher rate taxpayer in Feb 2020, you will still be a higher rate taxpayer on 5 April 2020. 6 April 2020 would be new tax year and (if your income drops substantially), your marginal tax rate will drop.
- the first £11,700 of gain is tax free. After that, you add gains to your income for the tax year to work out your applicable rate. It is therefore possible to pay 18% on part and 28% on the excess over the higher rate threshold.