Credit and Source: Accounting Web
Taxpayers rely on HMRC to explain what costs they can claim for, and what taxes should be paid by which dates. Rebecca Cave looks more closely at two recent HMRC statements that instilled confusion rather than clarity.
The latest misleading statement from HMRC came in an FT.com com article on 27 November in which HMRC’s interim director general for customer services Karl Khan was quoted as saying: “The 2019 to 2020 tax year is the last year UK residents will be required to pay the Capital Gains Tax for the sale of properties as part of the self assessment process and we want to make sure they are aware of the new requirements.”
This comment is taken from an HMRC press release on 24 November reminding taxpayers to declare gains made from residential property for 2019/20. The statement may make some sense in the context of the press release, but falls down when used as a standalone quote.
Factual error
The issue I have with Khan’s statement is that 2019/20 is not the last year that UK resident taxpayers will be required to pay CGT on the sale of properties as part of the self assessment (SA) process.
From 2020/21 taxpayers will still be required to report and pay CGT in respect of disposals (not just sales) of property and other assets as part of their annual self- assessment, as Jacquelyn Kimber explained in June.
Credit and Source: Accounting Web
