Capital Gains Tax, First home became rental, now sold

CarpeJugulum

Hi,
Could anyone offer any advice on capital Gains Tax?

We bought our first house in 1999,  it needed a lot of work to make it a home.
Old Rotten wood single glazing replaced with UPVC
Rotten Conservatory removed
Bathroom floor and Joists needed replacing, along with bathroom
No handrail on stairs
New Boiler
cavity wall insulation
Kitchen replaced (was just a freestanding cooker and a couple of freestanding cupboards
internal brick wall was knocked through with no RSJ so needed making safe
Fencing replaced
carpets replaced

I did most of the work I could myself, we never intended to become landlords so i didnt keep any receipts/invoices, a lot of it was just materials.
I have an idea on the costs of each project from memory, but not accurately

We moved home in 2012,  but couldn't sell our old house so took the option of renting, we sold the house end April 2025.

Im now completing the CGT, and see the section for "Improvements" can i use my estimates or must they be backed up with invoices?  same with Costs of purchase, I don't remember this from the time, it wasn't extravagant just a bank survey and solicitors fees.

Thanks for any advice

Bookworm225

CarpeJugulum said:

Hi,
Could anyone offer any advice on capital Gains Tax?

We bought our first house in 1999,  it needed a lot of work to make it a home.
Old Rotten wood single glazing replaced with UPVC
Rotten Conservatory removed
Bathroom floor and Joists needed replacing, along with bathroom
No handrail on stairs
New Boiler
cavity wall insulation
Kitchen replaced (was just a freestanding cooker and a couple of freestanding cupboards
internal brick wall was knocked through with no RSJ so needed making safe
Fencing replaced
carpets replaced

I did most of the work I could myself, we never intended to become landlords so i didnt keep any receipts/invoices, a lot of it was just materials.
I have an idea on the costs of each project from memory, but not accurately

We moved home in 2012,  but couldn't sell our old house so took the option of renting, we sold the house end April 2025.

Im now completing the CGT, and see the section for "Improvements" can i use my estimates or must they be backed up with invoices?  same with Costs of purchase, I don't remember this from the time, it wasn't extravagant just a bank survey and solicitors fees.

Thanks for any advice

read the section on use of estimates
CG-APP18-250 - “Report and pay the tax” section of the return submitted through the CGT on UK Property Account: Enter losses and exemptions - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK

many of the items in your last are not capital costs anyway, they are repairs which have nothing to do with your CGT when selling (in reality you could have claimed many of them against the rental income, but too late now)

Old Rotten wood single glazing replaced with UPVC - replacement of single with double glazing is expressly not capital; 
BIM46925 - Specific deductions: repairs and renewals: what is a repair: changing technology - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK

Rotten Conservatory removed - disallowed 
CG15200 - Expenditure: enhancement expenditure: demolition costs - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK For example, if a building is erected in a garden and is subsequently removed and the garden reinstated, neither the cost of the building nor of its removal will normally be allowable. 


the rest of the list are all repairs not capital improvements 
Bathroom floor and Joists needed replacing, along with bathroom t
No handrail on stairs
New Boiler
cavity wall insulation
Kitchen replaced (was just a freestanding cooker and a couple of freestanding cupboards
internal brick wall was knocked through with no RSJ so needed making safe
Fencing replaced
carpets replaced

saajan_12

Its largely moot anyway, as those items are just maintenance and replacing existing things rather than capital additions and hence not deductible.  They're expected to have a short / mid term lifespan and would naturally need updating every x years, but that doesn't make it an improvement for CGT purposes. 

At most perhaps the removal of the internal wall, but that's more likely just for your preferred layout rather than adding value.