CGT rates depend on which Income Tax band you fall into. For Basic Rate taxpayers, the CGT rate is charged at 18% on residential property within the Basic Income Tax band, and 28% above that rate.
For Higher Rate taxpayers, gains from residential property are charged at 28%. Other assets are charged at 20%. If you have any tax-free allowance available to you, you can offset this against property at the 28% rate first, allowing you to make best use of your allowance.
Losses can be offset against gains (e.g. if you sell two properties and only one makes a profit). Significantly, any losses you do not use (in part or in full) to offset can be carried over into subsequent tax years. If in a subsequent year you sell a property at a profit, you can still offset any remaining past losses to reduce your CGT exposure.
There are different rules for non-residents on using past losses to reduce present-day CGT, on which an independent financial expert can advise.
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