How To Report A Property Sale To HMRC Within 60 Days: Screenshots, Deadlines And Penalties
How to Report a Property Sale to HMRC Within 60 Days: Deadlines and Penalties
If you sell a UK residential property that isn't your main home and it produces a taxable gain, you must report and pay the Capital Gains Tax within 60 days of completion, not 60 days from exchange of contracts. For the 2026/27 tax year, missing this deadline triggers an immediate £100 penalty, rising to £300 or 5% of the tax due, whichever is greater, at both the six-month and twelve-month marks, on top of daily interest currently running at 7.75%.
This is one of the deadlines I see catch out otherwise careful, organised people more than almost any other in personal tax, and it's rarely because they're being careless. It's because the 60-day property reporting rule sits entirely outside the familiar rhythm of Self Assessment, doesn't announce itself the way a tax return deadline does, and completion can happen at a point in someone's life, moving house, dealing with a bereavement, managing a divorce, where a 60-day window is the last thing on their mind. I want to set out exactly how this works, because getting it right is genuinely straightforward once you know the mechanics, and getting it wrong is an entirely avoidable, and needless, cost.
Who this actually applies to
The 60-day reporting requirement applies to UK residents disposing of UK residential property where the disposal produces a Capital Gains Tax liability. This covers the situations I see most often: a landlord selling a buy-to-let property, someone selling an inherited property that wasn't their main residence, a second home, or a property that was once a main residence but hasn't qualified for full Private Residence Relief throughout the period of ownership. HMRC's guidance on reporting and paying Capital Gains Tax confirms the rule applies where the completion date fell on or after 27 October 2021, when the window was extended from an earlier, tighter 30-day deadline.
There's a crucial exception that trips people up in both directions. If the entire gain on a property is covered by Private Residence Relief, because the property was your only or main home throughout your period of ownership, there's nothing to report at all, since no chargeable gain arises, as set out in HMRC's guidance on tax relief when you sell your home. But if only part of the gain is covered, perhaps because you let out a room, worked from home in a way that affects the relief, or lived elsewhere for a period during your ownership, the remaining taxable portion still needs reporting within 60 days, even though most of the gain itself is exempt. I've seen people assume that because their property was "mostly" their home, nothing needs reporting, when in fact a partial gain has crystallised and the clock is running regardless.
Non-UK residents face a stricter version of this rule: they must report every UK property disposal within 60 days, residential or commercial, even where there's no gain at all, or even where a loss has been made. There's no equivalent exemption for a no-gain position the way there is for UK residents, which is a genuinely important distinction for anyone who has moved abroad but still owns UK property.
What this Widget Tells Us: This interactive widget explains exactly how and when UK taxpayers must report a residential property sale to HMRC and pay any Capital Gains Tax within 60 days of completion. It covers who the rule applies to (including partial Private Residence Relief and non-residents), the correct way to count the deadline, the online reporting steps, late-filing penalties, interest charges, and a worked example of the extra costs of delay. Simply use the tabs at the top to move between sections, and try the built-in deadline calculator by entering your completion date to see your personal reporting deadline. Everything is presented in plain British English so you can quickly check your position and avoid unnecessary penalties.
What doesn't need reporting through this route
Disposals that produce no gain, no loss, most commonly a transfer to a spouse or civil partner, or a gift to charity, don't need reporting through the 60-day service. Property sold before 6 April 2020 falls under the older rules entirely, reported through the following year's Self Assessment return rather than this standalone process. And where a UK resident's disposal genuinely produces a loss, or the whole gain is covered by relief, there's simply nothing to report, since the 60-day obligation for UK residents is specifically tied to a chargeable gain arising, unlike the non-resident position described above.
The mechanics: setting up and using the reporting service
Disposals are reported through a dedicated online service, a Capital Gains Tax on UK property account, accessed through your Government Gateway login, separate from your normal Self Assessment account even if you already have one. This surprises people the first time they try to use it. You can't simply log into your existing Self Assessment portal and find the property report sitting there waiting; a distinct account needs to be created specifically for this purpose.
Within the account, you enter the disposal details, the acquisition cost, allowable expenses, and any reliefs claimed, and the service calculates the tax due based on the figures provided. Where you want an accountant or adviser to handle this on your behalf, you'll need to set up the account yourself first and then formally authorise your adviser to act, since the authorisation process for this specific service isn't automatically covered by a general Self Assessment agent authorisation you may already have in place. I'd flag this specifically because it's a step people sometimes discover only once they're already up against the deadline, having assumed their existing adviser relationship covered it automatically.
If figures aren't finalised within the 60-day window, perhaps because a final invoice for improvement works hasn't arrived, or a valuation is still being finalised, the report can and should still be made using a reasonable estimate rather than waiting and missing the deadline entirely. You then have 12 months from the 31 January filing deadline for the relevant tax year to go back and amend the return once the actual figures are known, correcting the estimate without penalty for having used one in the first place.
Counting the 60 days correctly
The 60-day clock starts from the completion date, the point at which the sale legally completes and the keys typically change hands, not the earlier date on which contracts were exchanged. This distinction matters because there can be a meaningful gap between exchange and completion on a property transaction, sometimes several weeks or more, and using the wrong date as your starting point risks either reporting too early with figures that later change, or more dangerously, miscounting the deadline and filing late.
A property completing on 12 January, for example, gives a deadline of 13 March, sixty calendar days later, counting every day including weekends. Given how tight this window can feel once you factor in gathering acquisition costs, allowable expenses, and any relevant relief calculations, I'd always recommend starting the reporting process as soon as completion is confirmed, rather than treating 60 days as a comfortable margin, particularly if the disposal involves anything beyond a straightforward, single-owner sale.
Jointly owned property
Where a property is jointly owned, each owner reports their own share of the gain separately through their own individual account, not as a single combined report. Two joint owners selling a rental property each need their own Capital Gains Tax on UK property account, each calculating and reporting their own portion of the gain based on their ownership share, with each individually subject to the 60-day deadline and its own separate penalty exposure if missed.
What the penalties actually cost
The penalty regime for late 60-day returns follows the same structure as Self Assessment penalties under Schedule 55 of the Finance Act 2009, with one notable difference: there's no equivalent of the £10-a-day penalty that applies to a very late Self Assessment return, though HMRC does retain discretion to apply daily penalties of £10 a day, up to a maximum of 90 days, where a return remains outstanding more than three months after the deadline.
The core structure runs as follows. Missing the 60-day deadline entirely triggers an immediate £100 penalty, applied as soon as day 61 arrives without a return filed. If the return remains outstanding more than six months after the original deadline, a further penalty applies, £300 or 5% of the tax due, whichever is greater. A further, identical penalty, £300 or 5% of the tax due, applies again if the return is still outstanding after twelve months. On a property disposal generating a modest tax bill, the fixed £300 penalties at each stage dominate; on a disposal with substantial tax due, the 5% calculation can significantly exceed £300, meaning the cost of prolonged non-compliance scales directly with the size of the gain.
Separately from the filing penalties, interest runs on any unpaid tax from day 61 onward, currently set at 7.75% per year, following HMRC's confirmed rate from 9 January 2026, as published in HMRC's guidance on interest rates for late and early payments, calculated as the Bank of England base rate plus four percentage points. This rate moves with the base rate, so it's worth checking HMRC's current published rate rather than assuming a fixed figure, but at time of writing it represents a genuinely meaningful cost on top of the flat penalties, particularly for a gain that's sat unreported and unpaid for several months.
A worked illustration
Take a landlord who completes the sale of a buy-to-let property on 5 September 2026, generating a taxable gain of £42,000 after allowable costs and the £3,000 annual exempt amount, with Capital Gains Tax due of roughly £7,560 based on the higher 24% residential property rate applying to the whole gain. The 60-day deadline falls on 4 November 2026. If the landlord doesn't get around to reporting until 20 May 2027, a little over six months after completion, the position looks like this: an immediate £100 penalty for missing the original deadline, a further £378 penalty at the six-month stage (5% of £7,560, which exceeds the £300 fixed alternative), and interest running at 7.75% on the unpaid £7,560 for the roughly six and a half months between the original due date and eventual payment, adding a further sum in the region of £320. Altogether, a delay that could have been avoided entirely with a straightforward online report costs close to £800 in penalties and interest on top of the tax that was always going to be due regardless.
What this Widget Tells Us: This interactive visual guide from My Tax Accountant clarifies your legal obligation to report and pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) within 60 days of completing a UK residential property sale. You can use the built-in deadline calculator to find your exact filing cut-off, test whether your disposal qualifies for reporting with the interactive checker, and simulate late-filing penalties or daily interest charges in real time. Simply navigate through the tabs above to work out your dates, estimate your liabilities, and follow the step-by-step walkthrough for submitting your return through HMRC’s dedicated online property service.
Reconciling with Self Assessment
A 60-day report doesn't replace your annual Self Assessment return if you're already required to file one for other reasons, self-employment income, rental income above the reporting threshold, or any other trigger for Self Assessment. The gain still needs including on the capital gains pages of that year's return, with credit given for the tax already paid through the 60-day service, so you're not paying twice. This is purely a reconciliation exercise rather than a second tax bill: if the 60-day estimate turns out to have been accurate, the Self Assessment entry simply confirms the figure already paid; if the actual position differs once your full income for the year is known, perhaps because the gain pushes you into a different rate band than assumed at the point of the 60-day report, the Self Assessment return adjusts for that difference, with either further tax due or a refund.
If you're not otherwise required to file a Self Assessment return, using the 60-day service on its own is generally sufficient, and you won't need to register for Self Assessment purely because of this one property disposal, provided the 60-day report has been properly completed and the tax correctly paid.
Scotland and Wales
The 60-day reporting requirement itself, being a Capital Gains Tax obligation, is set at UK level and applies identically across Scotland, Wales, England, and Northern Ireland, since Capital Gains Tax is reserved to Westminster with no separate Scottish or Welsh regime. The deadline, the reporting service, and the penalty structure covered here apply in exactly the same way regardless of where in the UK the property is located or where its owner is resident. Where Scotland's position becomes relevant is in the separate matter of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, which replaces Stamp Duty Land Tax on the purchase side of a Scottish property transaction, and in Scottish Income Tax rates and bands, which can affect how much of a gain falls within the basic rate band when calculating the 18% versus 24% split, since that calculation looks at total taxable income including Scottish-rate earnings. Wales has its own Land Transaction Tax on purchases, similarly separate from the Capital Gains Tax reporting obligation covered in this article, but otherwise follows UK-wide Income Tax rates, so the underlying gain calculation and reporting deadline are unaffected either way.
FAQs
How many days do I have to report a property sale to HMRC?
UK residents must report and pay Capital Gains Tax on a UK residential property disposal within 60 days of the completion date, not the date contracts were exchanged. This applies to disposals completing on or after 27 October 2021.
Do I need to report the sale if my property was my main home the whole time I owned it?
Generally no. If Private Residence Relief covers the entire gain because the property was your only or main home throughout your ownership, there's no chargeable gain and nothing to report through the 60-day service.
What happens if I miss the 60-day deadline?
An immediate £100 penalty applies as soon as the deadline passes. Further penalties of £300 or 5% of the tax due, whichever is greater, apply if the return remains outstanding after six months and again after twelve months, alongside interest on any unpaid tax running from day 61.
Can I use an estimate if I don't have final figures within 60 days?
Yes. You should report using a reasonable estimate rather than miss the deadline, and you then have 12 months from the following 31 January to amend the return once the actual figures are known.
Do non-UK residents have the same reporting rules?
Non-UK residents face a stricter requirement: they must report every UK property disposal within 60 days, whether residential or commercial, even where there's no gain or a loss has been made, unlike UK residents who only need to report where a chargeable gain actually arises.
Do I still need to include the sale on my Self Assessment return if I've already reported it within 60 days?
Yes, if you're required to file a Self Assessment return for other reasons. The gain still needs including on the capital gains pages, but you'll receive credit for the tax already paid through the 60-day report, so you're not taxed twice on the same gain.
If my property is jointly owned, do we submit one report between us?
No. Each owner reports their own share of the gain separately through their own individual Capital Gains Tax on UK property account, and each is separately responsible for meeting the 60-day deadline for their portion.
What's the current interest rate on late Capital Gains Tax payments?
HMRC's late payment interest rate is 7.75% from 9 January 2026, set at the Bank of England base rate plus four percentage points. This rate can change if the Bank of England base rate moves, so it's worth checking HMRC's current published figure for an up-to-date calculation.
Can my accountant report the sale on my behalf?
Yes, but you'll need to set up your own Capital Gains Tax on UK property account first and then formally authorise your adviser to act on it specifically. This authorisation is separate from any existing Self Assessment agent authorisation you may already have in place.
Does the 60-day rule apply if I'm selling a commercial property rather than a residential one?3
For UK residents, the 60-day reporting requirement applies specifically to residential property disposals. Commercial property gains for UK residents are reported through the normal annual Self Assessment process instead, though non-UK residents must report both residential and commercial property disposals within 60 days.
About the Author
Maz Zaheer, AFA, MAAT, MBA, is the CEO and Chief Accountant of MTA and Total Tax Accountants, two premier UK tax advisory firms. With over 15 years of expertise in UK taxation, Maz provides authoritative guidance to individuals, SMEs, and corporations on complex tax issues. As a Tax Accountant and an accomplished tax writer, he is renowned for breaking down intricate tax concepts into clear, accessible content. His insights equip UK taxpayers with the knowledge and confidence to manage their financial obligations effectively.
Disclaimer:
This article explains the general position for the 2026/27 tax year and is accurate at the date of publication. Tax outcomes depend on individual circumstances, and rules change. It is not advice for your situation. For guidance on your own position, speak to a qualified accountant or tax adviser. My Tax Accountant accepts no liability for action taken solely on the basis of this article.
