Your gain is usually the difference between what you paid for your personal possession and what you sold it for. Use the market value instead if: it was a gift (there are different rules if it was to your spouse, civil partner or a charity ) you sold it for less than it was worth to help the buyer you inherited it (and don’t know the Inheritance Tax value ) you owned it before April 1982 Deduct costs You can deduct certain costs of buying, selling or improving your personal possession from your gain. Costs you can deduct include: fees, eg for valuing or advertising costs to improve your possession (but not repairs) VAT (unless you can reclaim it) You can’t deduct certain costs, including: interest on a loan to buy your possession costs you can claim as expenses , if you’ve used your possession for business Contact HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) if you’re not sure whether you can deduct a certain cost. If you sold it for between £6,000 and £15,000 You may be able to reduce your gain if you got between £6,000 and £15,000 for your possession when you sold or disposed of it. Subtract £6,000 from the amount you’ve received. Multiply this by 1.667. Compare this with the actual gain - use the lower amount as your capital gain. Work out if you need to pay When you know your gain, you can work out if you need to report and pay Capital Gains Tax. If you’ve used your possession for business, you can reduce or delay the tax you pay if you’re eligible for tax relief . Reporting a loss The rules are different if you need to report a loss . You can claim losses for possessions sold for less than £6,000. Work out your loss by using £6,000 as the amount you sold your possession for, and report it in your tax return.

Possessions with a limited lifespan

You don’t have to pay Capital Gains Tax on personal possessions with a lifespan of less than 50 years. This covers all machinery, and includes things like antique clocks or watches. Different rules apply if you’ve used the possession for business. You don’t have to pay Capital Gains Tax if it doesn’t qualify for capital allowances . If it qualifies, you may need to pay Capital Gains Tax, but you can’t claim losses.

Possessions that are part of a set

If you sell all or part of a set to the same person for less than £6,000, you won’t pay tax. If you sell parts of a set to different people, you won’t pay tax on each part sold for less than £6,000. Sets include things like chessmen, books by the same author, matching vases and sets of china.

Capital Gains Tax on personal possessions

What you pay it on

You may have to pay Capital Gains Tax if you make a profit (‘gain’) when you sell (or ‘dispose of’) a personal possession for £6,000 or more.

Possessions you may need to pay tax on include:

jewellery
paintings
antiques
coins and stamps
sets of things, eg matching vases or chessmen

You’ll need to work out your gain to find out whether you need to pay tax.

When you don’t pay it

You don’t usually need to pay tax on gifts to your husband, wife, civil partner or a charity.

You don’t pay Capital Gains Tax on:

your car - unless you’ve used it for business
anything with a limited lifespan, eg clocks - unless used for business

Jointly owned possessions

You’re exempt from paying tax on the first £6,000 of your share if you own a possession with other people.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Capital Gains Tax on personal possessions

What you pay it on

When you don’t pay it

Jointly owned possessions

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Capital Gains Tax on personal possessions

What you pay it on

When you don’t pay it

Jointly owned possessions

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