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Am I Still Liable for Capital Gains Tax or Will I Be Treated Like a Property Trader Who Pays No Capital Gains?

Question:
If I bought land and built a house and subsequently sold it, am I still liable
for capital gains tax or will I be treated like a property trader who pays no capital gains?

Arthur Weller Replies: 

You will be treated like a property trader who pays no capital gains tax,
but instead pays income tax on their profits. If I understand correctly, you sold the property soon after it was completed and did not rent it out. This may even have been your intention when you started. If so, the Revenue will argue that this is not an investment, which is subject to capital gains tax when sold, but that you are a trader selling a commodity, and so subject to income tax.
If I bought land and built a house and subsequently sold it, am I still liable
for capital gains tax or will I be treated like a property trader who pays no capital gains?

Arthur Weller
...


This question was first printed in Business Tax Insider in August 2010.