Crown Servant liability for capital gains tax

[CasperT]

I am a crown servant and have worked outside of the UK on and off since 2003. I have rented my home out for about 12 years in total during that time. I am counted as being resident in the UK for tax purposes. Am I liable for capital gains tax if/when I sell my property?

[bd6759]

possibly not.

Your main residence is exempt from capital gain tax.

Any periods of absence from your home can be ignored if the absence was due to your employment abroad. So as long as the property was your home before you went abroad and became your home again when your employment abroad ceased, you should be entitled to full exemption from CGT. This supposes that you didn't buy another property to live in when you were away.

[CasperT]

Thanks for your response. Fingers crossed

[etf]

One ancillary point that potentially may be worth looking at (depending on what you do) is that of job related accommodation (HMRC guidance below):

Job-related accommodation
If you live in accommodation that is job-related and you also own a dwelling house that you intend to occupy as your only or main residence, the dwelling house you intend to occupy is treated as actually being occupied by you as a residence during the period in which you intend to occupy it, even if you never actually live there. This means that you may nominate that residence as your only or main residence and get relief on the whole or a part of the gain. Please see the paragraph headed only or main residence above. If your intention to live in the dwelling house ends, then the dwelling house is no longer treated as your residence.

Accommodation that’s job-related if it’s exempt from Income Tax for the reasons set out in Helpsheet 202 Living accommodation HM Forces & Diplomatic Service are detailed as examples in this guidance.