Claiming past years' capital losses

thefirs

In January 2009 my wife eventually sold a property that she inherited seventeen years ago, thus resulting in a healthy gain in excess of the annual CGT allowance. She sold some shares within the past six years that resulted in losses which have yet to be notified to the IR and I know that these can be used to offset the gain.

She has had simple tax affairs and has not needed to fill in a return until now. Can the online SA form for 2008/9 be used to record losses in past years, or must a separate tax return be completed for each year there is such a loss?

Would the use of a professional be adviseable in a one-off case such as this?

00ec25

Its all explained on the HMRC website:

How to claim a loss - and the time limits for doing so

You need to tell HMRC about losses before you're allowed to deduct them from your gains.
If you made the loss in 1996-97 or a later tax year, you need to tell HMRC in writing. You have five years to do this (see more on 'time limits' below).
If you made a loss in 1995-96 or an earlier tax year - and haven't yet used it - you don't need to tell HMRC about the loss until you want to use it.
Time limits for claiming losses - 1996-97 and later tax years

The time limit for claiming a loss is five years from the 31 January after the end of the tax year in which you made the loss.
Example

• you make a loss in 2008-09, so the end of the tax year is 5 April 2009
• the 31 January after the end of that tax year is 31 January 2010
• you must make the claim by 31 January 2015

How to claim a loss

If you normally complete a Self Assessment tax return, there are places to show losses on the Capital Gains Tax summary pages.
If you don't normally complete a Self Assessment tax return, you should claim the loss by writing to your Tax Office.
You must keep any records showing how you worked out your loss and include your calculations with your tax return or correspondence.