Contributed by ACCA, in their own words
Private residence relief – final period rule
As announced at Autumn Statement 2013, the government will legislate to reduce the final period exemption from 36 months to 18 months in most cases from 6 April 2014.
The final period exemption applies to a property that has been a person’s private residence at some time, even though they may not be living in the property at the time they dispose of it and they may be claiming private residence relief on another property at the same time.
Legislation will be introduced in the Finance Bill 2014 to amend Section 223 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (TCGA). From 6 April 2014 the final period exemption will be reduced from 36 months to 18 months. However, for a person moving into care, a 36-month period will remain; this is to recognise that they may take longer to decide to dispose of the former home.