What is the private residence period for CGT?
Answered 17 March 2026
Thank you for the search results. I now have comprehensive information to answer the question fully.
Private Residence Period for CGT (Principal Private Residence Relief)
What the law says
Under TCGA 1992, s.223, the "private residence period" for CGT purposes operates as follows:
Full exemption: No part of a gain is a chargeable gain if the dwelling-house has been the individual's only or main residence throughout the entire period of ownership, or throughout the period of ownership except for all or any part of the last 9 months of that period.
Partial exemption: Where full exemption does not apply, the exempt fraction of the gain is:
(length of period(s) of only or main residence, inclusive of the last 9 months of the period of ownership in any event) ÷ (length of the total period of ownership)
The "final period" exemption — the last 9 months always counts as a period of residence, regardless of actual use, provided the property has been the owner's only or main residence at some point.
Historical final periods (for reference):
- Disposals before 6 April 2014: final 36 months
- Disposals on or after 6 April 2014 but before 6 April 2020: final 18 months
- Disposals on or after 6 April 2020: final 9 months
Exception for disabled persons / care home residents (s.225E TCGA 1992): The final period is extended to 36 months where the individual (or their spouse/civil partner) is a disabled person or long-term care home resident and has no other relevant private residence.
Periods of absence that are also treated as periods of residence under s.223(3) TCGA 1992 include:
- Absences not exceeding 3 years in total (any reason);
- Any period working abroad (all duties performed outside the UK);
- Absences not exceeding 4 years due to the location of the individual's workplace or an employer's requirement to reside elsewhere.
(Conditions A and B must be met: the property must have been the only/main residence both before and after the absence in most cases.)
HMRC guidance / practice
HMRC confirms that the purpose of private residence relief is to exempt the gain from disposal of a dwelling-house to the extent it has been used as the owner's only or main residence, with the exempt proportion determined by the proportion of the period of ownership in which it was so used.
The final period exemption applies "in any event" — meaning it is automatic and does not require the owner to demonstrate difficulty finding a buyer; it applies regardless of the actual use of the property in that final period, as long as the property was the owner's only or main residence at some point.
Practical example (HMRC): An individual who acquires a house in May 2011, occupies it as only/main residence from August 2015 to June 2020, and sells in November 2020:
- Period of ownership: 115 months
- Period of residence: 59 months
- Final period exemption: 5 months (July–November 2020)
- Relief = (59 + 5) ÷ 115 × gain
Gift hold-over relief restriction (s.226A TCGA 1992): Where the acquisition cost is reduced by a gift hold-over relief claim under s.260 TCGA 1992 on a disposal on or after 10 December 2003, no private residence relief is available for any period after 9 December 2003, and the final period exemption is similarly restricted.
Citation sources
f absence not exceeding 4 years (or periods of absence which together did not exceed 4 years) throughout which the individual lived with a spouse or civil partner in respect of whom paragraph (c) applied in respect of that period (or periods), shall be treated as if in that period of absence the dwelling-house or the part of the dwelling-house were occupied by the individual as a residence if conditions A and B are met. 3A Condition A is that before the period there was a time when the dwelling-
Where a claim for gifts relief under TCGA92/S260 is made in relation to any earlier disposal, the latest of which was made before 10 December 2003, private residence relief is due subject to the following transitional provisions: Private residence relief will not be available in respect of the later disposal for that part of the transferors’ period of ownership falling after 9 December 2003. No period after that date will be treated as a period of occupation as an only or main residence, so that
If a dwelling-house has been used as its owner’s only or main residence at some time in his or her period of ownership, then the following final part of the period of ownership will always qualify for relief. For disposals on or after 6 April 2020 the final period of ownership that qualifies for relief is 9 months, unless the disposal is by disabled persons or persons in care homes etc. and s225E TCGA92 applies (see CG64986). For disposals on or after 6 April 2014 but before 6 April 2020 the fin
If the dwelling-house is used for part or all of the final part of the period of ownership as its owner’s only or main residence, that period may qualify for relief both as a period of residence and as part of the exempt final period. This period should only be counted once in computing relief. This is illustrated below. Example An individual acquires a dwelling-house in May 2011 and uses it as her only or main residence from August 2015 to June 2020. The house is sold in November 2020 and a gai
Part VII Other property, businesses, investments etc. Private residences Amount of relief. 223 1 No part of a gain to which section 222 applies shall be a chargeable gain if the dwelling-house or part of a dwelling-house has been the individual’s only or main residence throughout the period of ownership, or throughout the period of ownership except for all or any part of the last 9 months of that period. 2 Where subsection (1) above does not apply, a fraction of the gain shall not be a chargeabl