Q My wife and I live in a house in the UK which we own together. Recently, we jointly bought a property in Greece with the ultimate intention of moving there on a permanent basis once we have both retired.
In the meantime, I may spend increasing amounts of time at the house in Greece as I will be retiring soon. My wife is not ready to retire and intends to continue working, possibly on a six-monthly on/off basis, spending her off time with me in Greece and her work time at home in the UK. When she also retires, we will then sell our UK home. Will this sale be liable for capital gains tax?
Neither of these properties will be let out and the owning of the two properties is part of our transition into retirement.
DS
A Lucky you! I hope you have managed to find a suitable kafeneion (coffeehouse) to hang out in while your wife does all the work (my other half’s retirement dream but strangely not mine).
But back to business. No, the proceeds from the sale of your UK home will not be liable for capital gains tax (CGT) because of private residence relief which makes main homes CGT free. But as you now own two homes, and to be on the safe side, it might be a good idea to tell HMRC that you would like to nominate your UK home as your “main residence”. This will need to be done within two years of you acquiring the property in Greece.
As well as talking to HMRC, it would be advisable to talk to your home insurers as well. Most household policies allow you to be away from your home for up to 31 days, so leaving your UK home empty for six months may invalidate your cover. However, your insurers may allow longer absences if you take steps to keep the property safe, such as making sure the garden is kept tidy, having the house checked regularly and keeping the heating at a certain temperature and switching the water off while you are away.
As you clearly mean to stay in Greece for more than three months – the maximum stay for non-EU/EEA and non-Swiss citizens – you will also need to apply for a D visa that lets you stay in the country for the long term. At some point in the future, you’ll be required to be able to speak Greek. So if you don’t already, you might want to investigate Greek evening classes and/or online courses such as Language Transfer and Duolingo.
