PAYING 20% INSTEAD OF 28% ON THE SALE OF PROPERTY

The latest Finance Act has retained the 28% CGT rate for sales of residential property, whereas the general rate was reduced to 20% for higher rate taxpayers. It has been suggested that it is possible to reduce the rate from 28% to 20% by deferring the gain temporarily into qualifying EIS company shares. The tax planning opportunity arises because reinvesting the property gain in Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) company shares defers the gain until the shares are sold when the gain comes back into charge at the general rate of CGT, currently 20% for a higher rate taxpayer. There is no minimum holding period for EIS deferral relief, however where the investor is seeking income tax relief and CGT exemption on the sale of the shares they need to be an unconnected investor and retain the EIS shares for at least 3 years. The reinvestment in EIS shares must take place during the period of 12 months before to 36 months after the date of disposal of the property. Shares in EIS qualifying companies are risky investments and specialist investment advice should be taken. There is also a chance that HMRC may block this tax planning strategy in the future.

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