Sale of 2nd home after civil partnership

[Bruce01753]

My partner and I are going to have a civil partnership. We both own our own homes. If we sell one of them, being civil partners, would we qualify for private residence relief, or would we now have to pay capital gains tax on the sale of one of them? We have both lived in our homes since purchase. Thank you

[PallasAthena]

Government guidance on this seem clear. If you sell as a single person before entering into a Civil Partnership you automatically get Private Residence Relief if you meet the criteria listed on the link. So no CGT would be payable. From what you have said you would seem to meet those criteria.

Tax when you sell your home: Private Residence Relief - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[Bruce01753]

I guess what my q is, is it better in terms of cgt to sell one of the properties before we form a civil partnership, or can we do so afterwards and still fall within the private residence relief (there is something about a 2 year grace period to sell the 2nd home).

[Pezza54]

The rules are a bit confusing : www.gov.uk/tax-sell=home/absence-from-home

As far as I understand the rules, the 2 year cgt relief is up to the first 2 years you owned the property provided both of two conditions are met:
You were unable to sell your old home (i assume that means you have to be advertising it)
You lived in it as your main residence within 2 years of owning it

For a married couple or a couple in a civil partnership, only one home per couple counts as the main residence for any period

So in your case, if I'm right, when one of you moves in with the other, the house being sold will need to be advertised asap and sold within 2 years of vacating it to avoid cgt

The 2 year clock to sell the house will start running the date the civil partnership is formed (see para 3 above)

I hope you understand the above, I am having trouble with it

And now the link doesn't work
The guidance is titled "Tax when you sell your home" at www.gov.uk