CGT Payment Deadlines for UK Property Sales in 2026/27

Capital Gains Tax on a UK residential property sale has two distinct reporting and payment touch points: the 60-day CGT on UK property return and the annual Self Assessment return. Missing the 60-day window triggers automatic penalties from day 61, even if the eventual tax bill turns out to be zero. This guide sets out who has to file, when, how the two systems interact, and what to do if a deadline has been missed.

For broader CGT mechanics (rates, the annual exempt amount, computational reliefs) see the CGT on UK property complete guide. This page focuses on the timing and compliance side.

Who is in scope of the 60-day return

The 60-day CGT on UK property regime catches two distinct populations, and the rules differ.

Seller	Asset disposed of	60-day filing required?
UK resident individual or trustee	UK residential property, CGT due after AEA and reliefs	Yes
UK resident individual or trustee	UK residential property, no CGT due (PRR, losses, AEA)	No
UK resident individual or trustee	UK commercial property	No (Self Assessment only)
UK resident individual or trustee	Overseas property	No (Self Assessment only)
Non-UK resident individual, trustee or company	Any UK land or indirect interest in UK property-rich entity	Yes, regardless of tax due
UK resident company	UK property	No (corporation tax via CT600)
Personal representative of a deceased estate	UK residential property, CGT due	Yes

The asymmetry between UK and non-UK residents is the easiest point to get wrong. A non-UK resident landlord who sells a property at a loss, or whose gain is fully covered by losses, still has to file the 60-day return. A UK resident in the same position does not.

The 60-day clock

The 60-day period runs from the completion date of the disposal, not the exchange date. Where contracts have an unconditional exchange but completion is delayed, the obligation crystallises on completion. The statutory framework sits in Schedule 2 to the Finance Act 2019 (paragraph 3 sets the reporting and payment obligation, extended from 30 to 60 days by the Finance Act 2022), and the operational details are on HMRC's CGT on UK property service.

For a property completing on Wednesday 17 June 2026, the 60-day deadline falls on Sunday 16 August 2026. The deadline is not extended for weekends or bank holidays in the CGT on UK property service, so filing on the next working day would still be late. Filing earlier is straightforward and is generally the right approach if the calculation is settled.

What the 60-day return contains

The return is filed through HMRC's online CGT on UK property service. First-time users need a Government Gateway account and a separate CGT on UK property account number (HMRC generates this when the service is first accessed). Agents file via the agent services account, with client authorisation handled through the digital handshake process.

The return covers:

• The address and details of the property disposed of
• Date of acquisition and date of disposal
• Sale proceeds and acquisition cost
• Allowable enhancement expenditure (capital improvements only)
• Incidental costs of acquisition and disposal (legal fees, agent fees, SDLT on acquisition)
• Any reliefs claimed (Private Residence Relief on a period basis, Letting Relief where it applies)
• Capital losses brought forward and the annual exempt amount used
• An estimate of taxable income for the year (used to allocate the gain to basic-rate or higher-rate bands)

Where the seller's income for the year is uncertain (because the tax year is not complete, or self-employment profits are not settled), a reasonable estimate is acceptable. Any difference between the estimate used on the 60-day return and the final position is reconciled through Self Assessment.

Filing without digital access

The online service is the default route, but not the only one. HMRC distinguishes three populations of unrepresented filers: digitally excluded (unable to use online services because of age, disability, remoteness of location, religious belief or similar), digitally challenged (able to engage but struggling to manage the process unaided) and digitally capable (expected to use the online service, with help available if needed).

Two paper-route options exist for sellers who cannot or do not want to file online:

• Interactive PPDCGT form. Since April 2024, HMRC has published an interactive Capital Gains Tax on UK Property return that can be completed online, printed and posted. The route is open without specifically qualifying as digitally excluded, and is the simplest fallback when an online submission is not viable.
• Phone the Extra Support Team. Digitally-excluded sellers can phone HMRC on 0300 200 3300 (the main Taxes helpline) to either request a paper form to be issued by post or ask the Extra Support Team to complete the whole reporting process over the phone on their behalf.

The 60-day deadline applies regardless of filing route. Paper-route returns must still reach HMRC, and any tax due must still be paid, within 60 days of completion. There is no separate paper-route deadline and no extension for posting time. For unrepresented sellers the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) publishes step-by-step walkthroughs of both routes.

Payment is due at the same time

The CGT calculated on the 60-day return is payable on or before the 60-day filing deadline. The service offers payment by bank transfer, debit card or corporate credit card. There is no equivalent of a Time to Pay arrangement built into the 60-day workflow, although in practice HMRC will consider Time to Pay requests through the normal route after the liability has crystallised.

Interest on late payment runs from day 61 at HMRC's published rate. The current rate is on gov.uk/hmrc-interest-rates and tracks the Bank of England base rate plus a margin. The rate has been at elevated levels through 2024/25 and into 2026, making late payment materially more expensive than at any point in the last decade.

Penalties for late filing and late payment

Late filing and late payment penalties run on separate clocks.

Days past the deadline	Late filing	Late payment
Day 1 to 90	£100 fixed penalty	Interest accruing daily from day 61
Day 91 to 180	Plus daily £10 penalties, capped at £900	5% surcharge at day 91
Day 181 to 365	Plus £300 (or 5% of tax if higher)	Further 5% surcharge at day 181
Day 365 plus	Plus another £300 (or 5% of tax if higher)	Further 5% surcharge at day 365
Deliberate or concealed default	Tax-geared penalties of up to 100% of tax due	Tax-geared, in addition

The tax-geared 100% penalty band only applies where HMRC determines the failure was deliberate and concealed. Ordinary lateness, even prolonged, does not reach 100% under the standard penalty schedule. A reasonable excuse can result in penalties being waived on appeal, though "I didn't know about the rule" rarely succeeds on its own.

How the 60-day return and Self Assessment interact

The 60-day return is not a final return. The same disposal must be reported again on the SA108 capital gains pages of the Self Assessment return if the seller is within Self Assessment. The Self Assessment return is the definitive figure: tax paid through the 60-day return is credited against the final SA liability.

For a 2026/27 disposal:

• Within 60 days of completion: file the CGT on UK property return and pay any tax due
• By 31 October 2027: paper SA return filing deadline (or 31 January 2028 online)
• By 31 January 2028: SA filing deadline online, balancing payment or refund crystallises

If the SA return shows additional CGT due (for example, because actual income for the year pushed more of the gain into the higher-rate band than was estimated on the 60-day return), the balancing payment is due by 31 January 2028. If the SA return shows an overpayment, HMRC processes the refund after the return is received.

Sellers not currently within Self Assessment can trigger registration through the 60-day return or by writing to HMRC. Where the entire CGT liability is settled through the 60-day return and there is no other reason to file an SA return (no rental income, no untaxed interest above the threshold), HMRC may accept that no SA return is needed, but this is a case-by-case position rather than a general rule.

Worked timeline: a 2026/27 disposal

To put the dates together, consider a higher-rate UK-resident landlord selling a single buy-to-let on 1 June 2026 for £400,000. Acquisition was in 2014 at £220,000. Cumulative allowable enhancement expenditure is £15,000 (a new roof and an extension), and incidental costs total £8,000 across acquisition and disposal. The seller has no capital losses brought forward and no other disposals in the year.

• Gain: £400,000 minus £220,000 minus £15,000 minus £8,000 = £157,000
• Less annual exempt amount: £157,000 minus £3,000 = £154,000 taxable
• Higher-rate CGT on residential property at 24%: £36,960

The timeline runs:

• 1 June 2026: completion. 60-day clock starts.
• 31 July 2026: 60-day deadline. File CGT on UK property return and pay £36,960.
• Tax year ends 5 April 2027.
• By 31 January 2028: file Self Assessment return for 2026/27 including the same disposal on the SA108. Tax paid through the 60-day return is offset. Any balance or refund settled.

If income for 2026/27 turned out lower than estimated and part of the gain falls in the basic-rate band (18%) rather than higher-rate (24%), the SA return triggers a refund of the overpayment.

Practical points that come up most often

Three things land on our desk repeatedly in 60-day filings:

• Jointly owned property. Each owner files their own 60-day return for their share of the gain. The annual exempt amount is per person, so joint ownership effectively doubles the AEA available. The split follows beneficial ownership, which for spouses may have been set by a Form 17 election if the property is jointly held in unequal shares.
• Mixed-use periods. Where a property was a main residence for part of ownership and let for the rest, Private Residence Relief is claimed on a time-apportioned basis (with the final nine months always qualifying). Misapplying PRR is one of the most common 60-day return errors and frequently surfaces in HMRC enquiries.
• Deferred or contingent consideration. Where the sale price is paid in instalments or depends on a future event, the disposal still happens on completion. Estimate the consideration on a reasonable basis for the 60-day return, then amend the return (within 12 months) or adjust through Self Assessment as the actual figures crystallise.

The fuller mechanics of computing the gain (acquisition cost, enhancement vs repair, PRR period rules) sit in the PPR relief step-by-step guide and the complete CGT on UK property guide.

If you have already missed the deadline

Late filing penalties run from day 61 and compound at the points set out above. The right sequence is usually:

• File the 60-day return as soon as possible, even if late. Each day of further delay risks crossing the next penalty boundary.
• Pay the calculated tax with the return. Interest accrues daily; payment stops the interest clock running on the principal.
• If there is a reasonable excuse (serious illness, bereavement, HMRC service failure documented at the time), prepare the appeal in writing alongside the late filing.
• If cashflow is a constraint, request Time to Pay through the normal HMRC route after the liability has crystallised.

The penalty regime is harsh in part because the 60-day rule itself is not widely known by sellers who are not regular landlords. HMRC accepts reasonable excuse appeals in genuine cases, but the bar is real and the burden is on the taxpayer to evidence it.

Records to keep

Even where a 60-day return has been filed cleanly, HMRC can open an enquiry into the corresponding SA return for at least 12 months after filing, longer where careless or deliberate behaviour is suspected. Retain:

• Acquisition documentation: purchase contract, completion statement, SDLT return, legal invoices
• Improvement records: invoices, contracts, plans, photographs where useful
• PRR evidence where claimed: council tax, utility bills, electoral roll entries showing dates of main residence
• Disposal documentation: sale contract, completion statement, estate agent invoice, legal invoice
• The calculation worksheet supporting the 60-day return and the SA108 figures

HMRC's standard retention period is five years and 10 months after the end of the tax year for business taxpayers (which includes most landlords). In practice, retain records for at least six years after the disposal, with a longer period if there is any unusual point in the calculation.

Where this fits in the wider compliance picture

CGT compliance on disposal is one element of a broader tax position that also includes income tax on rental profits (now within Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for sole-trader landlords above £50,000 from 6 April 2026), Section 24 mortgage interest restriction, and where the property is held through a company, ATED and corporation tax. The 60-day return is the most time-sensitive of these, but the others compound costs over the holding period and can shift the buy/sell decision in their own right.