Am I liable for income or capital gains tax on overseas sale?

I am British; I have been living and working in the UAE for almost eleven years. We are considering returning to the UK. I have purchased a property in Dubai. Will I be liable for either income or capital gains tax if I sell my property in Dubai? I have a house in the UK that is currently rented out.

The statutory residence test rules are not simple, but making an assumption that you have been non- UK resident for the past eleven years, and are still non-UK resident, then if you sell your Dubai property while you are still non-UK resident there will be no UK capital gains tax for you to pay. For this to be the case you must make sure that the exchange of contracts on the Dubai property is before the date your UK residency kicks in (not such an easy date to accurately calculate for a returning expatriate!). See HMRC’s guidance in RDR3 (Statutory Residence Test Guidance Note) section 5, cases 4 to 8, re split-year treatment.