Hi,
I'm not an accountant, but this forum has been helpful previously.
In 2008 I sold a property where I made a loss of £14,000. My accountant at the time said that there was nothing I could set it against, but it would be available indefinitely to set against any gains in the future. I no longer use the particular accountant, and have no official tax return paperwork to confirm that the loss was made, and that it was registered with HMRC. I dont really know how it works, but hope to be able to get up to date.
Before taking some advice, I like to have an idea of the answer, so I am wondering if a Capital Loss is actually reported to, and recorded by, HMRC at the time, or do I just get to use it when a gain arises, perhaps being required to prove entitlement at the time. The purchase price in 2005 and the selling price in 2008 are a matter of record, so it wont be too difficult to show the figures.
The reason I am asking now is that I made a small gain in June 2019 and, whilst the tax liability is only a few hundred pounds, it would be better in my pocket than in HMRCs, if possible.
Many Thanks
Richard
Replies (3)
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Ask the former accountant.
Accountant should have shown the loss carry forward on return and it would have been there on the tax return software up to the point of change.
Did you start preparing your own returns when accountant stopped preparing?
To answer the question, the loss needs to have been reported within the relevant timeframe (once 6 years, now reduced to 4) to be available for offset now. If you had another accountant in between, they would have asked the previous accountant about this (hence Paul's question).
Try asking your most recent accountant, or ask HMRC. Or accept that sometimes not keeping records yourself can come with a cost.