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Private residence relief: when you pay no capital gains tax on your home

Private residence relief explained: when you pay no capital gains tax on your home, the final 9 months rule, absences, garden size and letting.

4 min read
Last reviewed 4 November 2026
By Your Property Check team

Part 1 of 8

General information, not advice

This guide covers capital gains tax (CGT) relief on a main home in the UK. It is general information, not advice, and tax rules depend on your own history, so check GOV.UK or ask a tax adviser. See our terms. We read the GOV.UK and HMRC pages on 4 November 2026. The Autumn Budget may change the rules, so recheck before you sell.

Part 2 of 8

The basic rule

GOV.UK says you do not pay CGT when you sell your home if all of these apply:

you have one home and you have lived in it as your main home for all the time you have owned it
you have not let part of it out, which does not include having a lodger
you have not used part of your home exclusively for business
the grounds, including all buildings, are less than 5,000 square metres (just over an acre) in total
you did not buy it just to make a gain

If any of those do not apply, GOV.UK says you may have some tax to pay. The relief is called private residence relief.

Part 3 of 8

Situations at a glance

Situation	Relief?	Why	Source
Lived in it as your only home throughout	Yes, in full	Meets the basic conditions	GOV.UK
Moved out in the last 9 months before selling	Yes for that period	The final 9 months of ownership always qualify	HMRC HS283
Away for up to 3 years in total, for any reason	Those absences are allowed	Allowed periods of absence	HMRC HS283
Away for up to 4 years in total for work reasons	Those absences are allowed	Allowed periods for work away	HMRC HS283
Grounds up to half a hectare	Yes, for all of it	Within the permitted area	HMRC HS283
Rented a room to a lodger	Not affected	A lodger does not count as letting part out	GOV.UK
Part used exclusively for business	That part may not qualify	Exclusive business use	HMRC HS283
Let the whole home for a time	Relief may be reduced	Relief may be lost for the let period	HMRC HS283

Part 4 of 8

The final 9 months

HMRC says the final 9 months of your period of ownership always qualify for relief. This matters if you move out and then take time to sell. A home that was your main residence earlier can still get relief for the last 9 months even if you no longer live in it. HMRC adds that for a disabled person or a care home resident, the final 36 months of ownership may qualify.

Part 5 of 8

Absences

HMRC lists allowed periods of absence. These are absences, for whatever reason, totalling not more than 3 years in all, and absences totalling not more than 4 years where work took you away or your employer required you to work elsewhere. The conditions for full relief also require that you have not been absent other than for an allowed period or because you were living in job-related accommodation. Our CGT calculator cannot model every pattern of absence, so use it as a rough guide.

Part 6 of 8

Garden and grounds

HMRC says that if your garden and grounds do not exceed half a hectare, which is a little over one acre, you are entitled to relief for all of it. GOV.UK states the same limit as 5,000 square metres. If your grounds are larger, ask an adviser how much of the land qualifies.

Part 7 of 8

Letting and business use

GOV.UK says relief does not apply in full if you have let part of your home, with the exception of a lodger. HMRC says letting relief does not apply where the whole of the dwelling house was let for a time. Where part of the home was let at the same time as another part was your main residence, letting relief is capped at £40,000 in HMRC's helpsheet. If part of your home is used exclusively for a trade or business, HMRC says that part will not qualify.

Part 8 of 8

If relief is partial

When relief does not cover the whole period, you may have some tax to pay, as GOV.UK puts it, and an adviser can work out how much. You can deduct the costs of buying, selling and improving the property, such as estate agents' and solicitors' fees, but not normal maintenance such as decorating. GOV.UK says you must report and pay CGT on most UK property sales within 60 days. The tax-free allowance for 2026 to 2027 is £3,000, and higher and additional rate taxpayers pay 24% on gains from 6 April 2026.

For worked examples of a taxable sale, see our guide on capital gains tax when you sell a house. Landlords weighing a sale can use the keep or sell tool, and executors should read about selling an inherited property.

Our take

Check the relief conditions before you price the sale

Private residence relief usually means no capital gains tax on your main home, but the conditions matter: living there for all the time you owned it, no part let out, and grounds under 5,000 square metres. We think letting and large grounds are where relief most often turns partial.

Your Property Check helps you compare your options. Our free sale method comparison shows auction, estate agent and cash buyer on net proceeds and timescale, so you can weigh each route once you know the tax position.

Compare sale routes

Our opinion, drawn from the facts on this page: not advice and not a forecast. We earn from OfferCheck reports and from introducing sellers to cash buyers, so weigh it with that in mind (see our disclosure). We are not authorised or regulated by the FCA.

Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

Do you pay CGT on your main home?

Usually not. GOV.UK says you pay no Capital Gains Tax if you have lived in it as your main home for all the time you have owned it and the other conditions are met. Otherwise you may have some tax to pay.

What is the final period exemption?

HMRC says the final 9 months of your period of ownership always qualify for private residence relief, even if you no longer live there. For disabled people and care home residents it may be the final 36 months.

What if you let part of your home?

GOV.UK says you do not get the full relief if you have let part of it out, though a lodger does not count. HMRC describes a capped letting relief for part lets where you still lived in another part.

What about a garden over half a hectare?

HMRC says gardens and grounds up to half a hectare qualify in full. Beyond that, ask an adviser how much of the land qualifies.

Do you still have to report a sale if there is no tax?

GOV.UK says UK residents do not need to report gains online if total gains are below the tax-free allowance. If you are unsure whether relief covers the whole gain, check before the 60 day deadline.

Where this comes from

Sources

Last reviewed 4 November 2026 by the Your Property Check team. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. For your own situation, speak to a conveyancing solicitor or another qualified professional.