Richard Curtis considers the capital gains tax only or main residence exemption and the required ‘quality of occupation’.
The exemption from capital gains tax (CGT) for a dwelling that is the taxpayer’s ‘only or main residence’ is an important one for homeowners. The value of the exemption means that some may be tempted to claim it on properties that may not clearly fall within its parameters. We must therefore look at what is meant by an only or main residence.
In its online guidance headed ‘Work out tax relief when you sell your home’, under ‘What counts as your home?’ HMRC states: “You must have lived in your home as your only or main residence at some point while you owned it…”
Quality of occupation
As intimated by HMRC, the important factor to remember is that the exemption applies on
