I bought a house in March 2020, intending to live there. However, I was relocated to a different office, and so I had to live in rented accommodation. Whilst working away, I rented out my home (all tax returns were completed, etc). I moved back to my house in January 2025 and sold it in June 2025 in order to move in with my partner. Do I still need to declare the capital gain (less any appropriate principal private residence (PPR) relief, etc), even though this was the only property that I owned? 

Arthur Weller replies:  

If you had lived in the property as your main residence when you first bought it, you could have claimed capital gains tax PPR 'period of absence’ relief, which enables you to treat the time when you had to live elsewhere due to employment as deemed occupation of the house (up to four years in the UK). However, from what you have described, it appears that the only relief you can claim is the 'final period exemption', which states that the last nine months of ownership are (pro rata) exempt for PPR relief purposes. The fact that this is the only property that you owned does not make a difference.