Is tax due on this?

crisp

Hi, I was left a piece of land about 30 years ago in Canada. I have done nothing with the land due to the distance from the UK. I now wish to sell. The valuation is £50k.

Do I have to pay tax or inform the IR in the UK?

dzug1

You will have to pay CGT in the UK and it is your responsibility to inform the taxman. The starting point will be the difference in value between the time you inherited it and the time it is sold.

There may (almost certainly will) be Canadian tax implications as well. No idea what they are

crisp

If I do not remit the money back to the UK will UK CGT be still due?

nakmeister

Assuming you are resident & domiciled in UK, you will be taxed on your worldwide gains, regardless of whether you remit them to the UK. Sorry.

Are you married? You could always transfer the land into joint names with your spouse prior to disposing of it - that way you get 2 x £10k annual exemption rather than just one.

crisp

i was under the impression that only income and gains earned in the UK were taxable. not sure what the UK govt has to do with canada

guess I have learnt something.

nakmeister

They try and get whatever tax they can off us I'm afraid. As dzug1 has pointed out, there will probably be Canadian tax implications too, but I wouldn't know about them either. However you shouldn't have to pay tax in both jurisdictions, there'll be a 'double tax treaty' between the two countries that should give you relief in one country for the tax you pay in the other. How exactly this works will depend on the tax treaty and as it's not one I'm familiar with I can't say.