Disclaimer: This article is intended as an informative piece. This is not accounting or tax advice. Please speak to a qualified tax professional about your specific circumstances before acting upon any of the information in this article.
Capital gains needs reporting to HMRC if the total disposal proceeds exceed four times the annual exempt amount, or if the net chargeable gains exceed the annual exempt amount. In the current tax year 2019/20, gains need to be reported if the gains exceed £12,000, or if the total proceeds of all disposals exceed £48,000.
Gains can be reported to HMRC on the Tax Return or using the ‘Real time capital gains tax service’. The idea of the ‘Real time capital gains tax service’ is that you don’t wait until the end of the tax year to declare the gain and pay the tax. However, it is unlikely to be appropriate where there are many disposals in a tax year.
The Recap tax report provides a summary of all the relevant information to be included on your annual Tax Return. The intention is that you pass our report to your accountant and they will be able to complete the Tax Return and advise on your tax position, based on your specific circumstances.
If you don’t already file a Tax Return, you need to notify HMRC that you have capital gains to report by 5 October after the end of the tax year. You can do this only here - https://www.gov.uk/log-in-file-self-assessment-tax-return/register-if-youre-not-self-employed - They will issue you with a Notice to File a Tax Return and you should chase this if it is not received.
Regardless of whether HMRC issue the Notice to File or not, you need to submit the Tax Return to HMRC by 31 January after the end of the tax year to avoid late filing penalties. A tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. If you made a disposal on 4 April 2019 (or started to receive income in the year ended 5 April 2019), this falls in the tax year ended 5 April 2019 and you need to notify HMRC by 5 October 2019 and submit the tax return by 31 January 2020.
Late filing penalties increase significantly over time and may be based on the tax due after 6 months.
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