Losses when you sell property — and the 60-day UK property return

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A property loss is a capital loss

If you sell or give away property that is chargeable to Capital Gains Tax — a second home, a buy-to-let, land, or a share of one — for less than its allowable cost, you have a capital loss. Claim it in the normal way: in the capital gains pages of your Self Assessment return, or by letter if you aren’t in Self Assessment and have never made a gain. See how to claim a capital loss.

Your own home is different. If Private Residence Relief covers it in full, a gain would not be taxable — and so a loss isn’t allowable either. HMRC’s manual gives exactly this example: a £10,000 loss on a property where 100% Private Residence Relief applies is not an allowable loss.

The 60-day service: UK residents

GOV.UK says you must report and pay any Capital Gains Tax due on UK residential property within 60 days of completing the sale. The reporting duty for UK residents is tied to tax being due: the legislation (Finance Act 2019, Schedule 2) only requires a return from a UK resident when there would be a payment on account to make, and GOV.UK says UK residents don’t need to report if their total gains are below the tax-free allowance.

So if you are UK resident and you made a loss on a residential property, you normally won’t need a 60-day return for it. You still need to claim the loss through Self Assessment (or by letter) if you want to use it.

There is one reason you might file anyway. The legislation lets a UK resident who makes a residential property loss file a return so that it can be taken into account against tax already paid on account on an earlier property sale in the same tax year. HMRC’s manual notes that the property account allows returns with no tax due — but warns that care is needed to make sure any loss calculated is genuinely an allowable loss.

The 60-day service: non-residents

If you are not UK resident, the rules are wider. GOV.UK says you must report disposals of UK property or land — residential or not — even if you have no tax to pay, have made a loss, or are registered for Self Assessment.

For non-residents, GOV.UK explains that losses on UK property or land must be used against gains of the same year on other UK property or land, and unused losses can be carried forward against later UK property or land disposals. If you later become UK resident, unused losses on UK property or land can be used as general losses against other gains.

Using losses on a 60-day return

When you report a gain through the property account, HMRC’s manual says you can include:

• losses from earlier in the same tax year, as long as you made them on or before the completion date of the property you’re reporting — anticipated future losses can’t be used;
• losses brought forward from earlier years that are available to you — you choose how much to use.

HMRC’s example (Miss E): she brought forward a £30,000 loss from 2021-22 and used it all against a £55,000 property gain in 2024-25, leaving £25,000 — more than her £3,000 annual exempt amount.

Net gain on residential property	£55,000
Losses brought forward used	minus (£30,000)
Gain after losses	£25,000
Annual exempt amount	minus (£3,000)
Taxable gain (before any other gains)	£22,000

Don’t forget Self Assessment

If you’re in Self Assessment, GOV.UK and HMRC say you must also include property disposals already reported through the property account on your tax return. HMRC’s notes for 2025–26 explain that the overall result from your property returns goes in its own box, and the individual gains and losses also go in the residential property totals. The tax paid on account is credited against your final bill.

Questions people ask

I sold a buy-to-let at a loss. Do I need to file a 60-day UK property return?

If you’re UK resident, the 60-day return is for reporting and paying Capital Gains Tax due on a UK residential property gain — so a loss normally doesn’t need one (you may choose to file one if you paid tax on account on an earlier sale in the same year). You still need to claim the loss through Self Assessment or by letter to use it. If you’re not UK resident, you must report every disposal of UK property or land, even a loss.

Sources

Checked 4 October 2026 for the 2026/27 tax year. We read these primary sources for this guide:

1. GOV.UK: Report and pay Capital Gains Tax — if you sold a property in the UK (gov.uk)
2. GOV.UK: Report your Capital Gains Tax on UK property by post (gov.uk)
3. GOV.UK: Tell HMRC about Capital Gains Tax on UK property or land if you’re not a UK resident (gov.uk)
4. GOV.UK: Work out your tax if you’re a non-resident selling UK property or land (gov.uk)
5. GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax — If you make a loss (gov.uk)
6. HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG-APP18-250: CGT on UK property account — losses and exemptions (gov.uk)
7. HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG-APP18-260: Filing where there is no liability (gov.uk)
8. HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG-APP18-320: Self Assessment and the property account (gov.uk)
9. Finance Act 2019, Schedule 2 (returns for disposals of UK land) (legislation.gov.uk)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This guide adapts and summarises that information in our own words. taxloss.co.uk is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) or the UK Government. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

More on capital gains losses

• 01Capital losses: what counts as an allowable lossWhen you sell or give away an asset for less than it cost you, you may have a capital loss. It only reduces your tax once it is an "allowable loss" — which depends on the asset and on telling HMRC in time.
• 02How to claim a capital loss — and the 4-year time limitA capital loss only counts once you have told HMRC about it, with the amount. Here’s how to do that on your tax return or by letter, and the deadline you must meet.
• 03How capital losses are set against gains — and the annual exempt amountThis year’s losses are used up in full first, even if that wastes your tax-free allowance. Losses brought forward from earlier years are only used to bring your gains down to the annual exempt amount — the rest carries on.
• 04Losses on disposals to family and connected peopleSell or give something to a relative, business partner or a company you control and make a loss, and that loss is "clogged" — you can only use it against gains on other disposals to the same person. Transfers to a spouse or civil partner usually give no loss at all.
• 05Shares that have become worthless: negligible value claimsIf shares (or other assets) you still own have become worth next to nothing, a negligible value claim lets you be treated as having sold them, creating a capital loss. The claim can be backdated — within limits.
• 06Share loss relief: setting a loss on shares against incomeLosses on shares you subscribed for in a qualifying unlisted trading company — including EIS and SEIS shares — can sometimes be set against your income instead of only against gains. The claim has a shorter deadline.
• 07Cryptoasset lossesSelling, swapping or spending tokens for less than their cost gives a capital loss you can claim like any other. HMRC treats lost keys and theft differently — and worthless tokens need a negligible value claim on the whole pool.