My brother and I inherited a Guernsey property from our parents in 1999. He has lived in the property since. I was born in Guernsey and lived at the inherited property several years ago. I have lived for many years in the UK, only staying at the inherited property on visits to Guernsey. I rent my home in the UK. I am a few years from retirement and the plan is to sell the Guernsey property in the next few years and split the proceeds with my brother, to help me in retirement. I will only have the state pension to live on. I would be grateful if you could inform me if I would have to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on this sale, as I am UK resident. I always believed that CGT was only payable on UK property and as Guernsey is not in the UK and no CGT is payable there, I would not have to pay any. However, I now believe I would have to pay CGT as I am UK resident and the home has not been my principal residence since I inherited it, despite it being the only property I own.

Arthur Weller replies:
Since you are UK resident, you are subject to CGT on your worldwide income and gains, so when this Guernsey house is sold you will have a UK CGT liability. It appears from the end of your question that you only lived in the property before you acquired your half, but after you inherited your half there was no time when it was your principal private residence (PPR). Consequently, you are not eligible for any PPR relief. Please see HMRC’s Capital Gains manual at www.gov.uk/ hmrc-internal-manuals/capital-gains-manual/cg64930.