How CGT applies when you sell estate assets as a personal representative. Rates, the £3,000 annual exempt amount, the 60-day property rule, date-of-death uplift, and when to report.
This guide is part of ProbateHelp's Inheritance Tax guide cluster. Estimated reading time: 15 min.
No. If the sale price is below the date-of-death value, the estate has made a CGT loss, not a gain. That loss can be set against gains elsewhere in the same tax year, or carried forward within the administration period.
For 2026-27, personal representatives pay a flat 24% rate on chargeable estate gains, including shares, property, and other assets. There is no lower rate for basic-rate taxpayers.
Not normally. If total gains for the tax year are below £3,000, no CGT is due and no formal report is usually required. However, if you are using losses to stay below the exemption, you may still need to report all gains and losses to HMRC so they can verify the position.
Transferring assets directly to beneficiaries is not normally a disposal for CGT purposes, so no estate-level CGT arises at that point. The beneficiary inherits at the date-of-death value and may pay CGT themselves if they later sell at a profit.
The annual exempt amount is only available for the tax year of death and the following two tax years. From year four onwards, estate gains are taxable with no annual exempt amount.
No. Private motor vehicles are exempt from CGT regardless of whether they have gone up in value. This applies to cars owned by the estate just as it does to individuals.