From: Clifford Frisby 
Newsgroups: uk.finance
Subject: Re: Capital gains - main residence
Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2005 17:51:33 +0100

Tim wrote:
>>>>Doug Ramage wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>For 2003-04 onwards, for CGT, there is no need
>>>>>to report a Nil liability unless the consideration
>>>>>for all disposals (excluding exemptassets) exceeds
>>>>>4x the Exemption limit for the year of disposal.
>>>>
>>>"Clifford Frisby" wrote
>>>
>>>>I'm not one to take the Which? guides as gospel, but if it's wrong (or
>>>>easily misunderstood) then a lot of people (me included) need to know.
>>>>"...
>>>>If you don't receive a tax return, you have to notify the Inland
>>>>Revenue only if you have capital gains on which tax is due."
>>>
>>"Tim" wrote:
>>
>>>Ah, but when "a tax liability of £Nil is due", then - according to the
>>>above - the IR may still need to be notified...
>>>[Tax *is* due, but the amount just happens to be zero (after reliefs).]
>>
> "Clifford Frisby" wrote
> 
>>Forgive me for being a bit sceptical here...
> 
> 
> No problem.  I was merely pointing out that Doug's comment and your quote
> from 'Which?' are consistent (no conflict involved).
> 
Probably so, if you were a student of mathematical logic, but in the 
context of the overall thread it did sound as though Doug was at least 
hinting that the converse of his statement was also true, i.e. that if 
your disposal proceeds *are* in excess of 4xAEA then a report is required!

> "Clifford Frisby" wrote
> 
>>Nevertheless, if I go along with it for a moment, then you seem to be
>>saying that the criterion for someone to use when deciding whether it is
>>necessary to notify the revenue of a disposal(s) is NOT either of these:
>>(a) my disposal proceeds exceeded 4 times the CG allowance,
>>(b) I have >0 CG tax due on the disposal(s),
>>in which case it must be something else.
>>
>>What is that mysterious criterion?
> 
> 
> What about:
>  (c) Notify them if EITHER tax exceeds zero, OR the disposal proceeds exceed
> 4x allowance...
> ...?

Well, this is (isn't it?) pretty much the question that decides whether 
you need to fill in the CGT pages *if* you receive a tax return, so it 
would at least have the virtue of equalising the misery for those that 
do recieve one and those that don't.

However, going back to the Which? guide, it makes a clear top-level 
distinction between those that do receive a tax return and those that 
don't, and describes reporting requirements which are less onerous for 
the second group compared with the first. (Because unless and until you 
have a tax return, the 4xAEA is of no concern - according to Which?)

So, if your (c) was indeed the correct criterion, it would surely mean 
that the Which? guide was either plain wrong or hopelessly misleading.

As it happens, I am currently convinced that Which? is correct because 
booklet CGT1 supports it (see replies elsewhere).