capital gains tax can i work it out

soulsaver

Mikeyorks wrote: »

Only the case - surely - if the OP is currently required to make SA Returns?

There's no requirement to notify HMRC otherwise, where there is no liability. Registering any loss can be done outside SA Returns ..... and there's no real time imperative.

He's prob refering to the need to inform HMRC of disposal of an asset realising more than 4 times the cgt allowance (£40.4k) see below.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cgt/intro/report-gain.htm

Gains you don't need to report
When you're filling in your Self Assessment tax return, you won't always have to complete the Capital Gains Tax pages.
You don't need to report gains on assets that aren't liable to Capital Gains Tax - eg gains on private cars, shares in ISAs and, in most cases, your main home.
You also don't need to report your gains if all of the following conditions are met:
you have no Capital Gains Tax to pay
your total gains (before you deduct any losses) are equal to or lower than the annual tax-free allowance (£10,100 for 2009-10 for individuals)
your total ‘disposal proceeds’ - usually the amount you receive when you sell or dispose of an asset - are no more than four times the tax-free allowance (ie no more than £40,400 for individuals in 2009-10)
you're resident and domiciled in the UK (usually this means that you live here and your permanent home is here, but see the link below for more on 'residency', 'domicile' and taxes

soulsaver

Mikeyorks wrote: »

Only the case - surely - if the OP is currently required to make SA Returns?

There's no requirement to notify HMRC otherwise, where there is no liability. Registering any loss can be done outside SA Returns ..... and there's no real time imperative.

I can think of an argument that undermines my post above (ie where there is no requirement otherwise to do an SA return)which may or may not be valid. If that argument is valid, how do you register a loss outside the SA return? Do you mean by a maintaining a 'formal' record? Or is there another method of informing HMRC?

soulsaver

soulsaver wrote: »

I can think of an argument that undermines my post above (ie where there is no requirement otherwise to do an SA return)which may or may not be valid. If that argument is valid, how do you register a loss outside the SA return? Do you mean by a maintaining a 'formal' record? Or is there another method of informing HMRC?

I've found the answer:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cgt/intro/losses.htm#3


Deducting losses from your capital gains
As long as the loss is 'allowable' (see above), you can deduct it from any gains made that year - or in a later tax year. It may reduce the amount of Capital Gains Tax you pay.

It doesn’t matter what type of asset you made the loss on, you can usually deduct it from gains on any type of asset (eg you can use a loss on shares to offset against a gain on a second home).
There are restrictions if you've made the loss on a sale or disposal to someone you're connected with (see the section below on losses to family members and ‘connected people').
Using a loss - a step-by-step guide for 2009-10
Step 1 - You must first deduct any allowable losses from gains you’ve made in the same tax year. For example, if you've made both gains and losses in 2009-10, you must deduct those losses from those gains.
Step 2 - If you still have gains after deducting your allowable losses, you should check whether the gains are more than the annual tax-free allowance - known as the Annual Exempt Amount. Nearly everyone who lives in the UK gets this tax-free allowance - it's £10,100 for individuals for 2009-10.
If your gains are below this amount, there's no Capital Gains Tax to pay.
Step 3 - If your gains are more than £10,100 but you've got some unused losses from a previous tax year, you can deduct these from your gains.
Use just enough of the losses to reduce your gain to the Annual Exempt Amount.
Use allowable losses from 1996-97 and later tax years before using losses from 1995-96 and earlier tax years.
Step 4 - If you still have unused losses from a previous tax year after you've reduced your gains to the Annual Exempt Amount, you can carry them forward to future tax years.