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The short answer
If you live in Nigeria and sell a home in the UK, you must report the sale to HMRC within 60 days of completion, even if no tax is due or you made a loss. Private Residence Relief can cover the years the house was your main home, plus the final 9 months, but tax years you spend abroad usually count against you unless you or your spouse spent at least 90 days in the property that year.
A common pattern: you lived in your own house in Manchester or Croydon for years, moved back to Lagos or Abuja, let the house or left it empty, and now want to sell. Many people assume that because it was their home there is nothing to report. For a seller who is no longer UK resident, there is always something to report, and the tax depends on how the years since you left are treated.
The 60-day return: report every sale
HMRC's guidance for non-residents says you must report every sale or disposal of UK property or land, even if you have no tax to pay, have made a loss, or are already registered for Self Assessment. For residential property the deadline is 60 days from completion, where completion was on or after 27 October 2021. Report and pay late and you may be charged interest and a penalty.
You report online through a Capital Gains Tax on UK property account, or on a paper form you complete online, print and post. HMRC then gives you a 14-character payment reference beginning with X. A relative or adviser can report for you if they have proof of authority, such as a lasting power of attorney.
What the return asks for
- The property address and postcode, and the type of property
- The dates you acquired it, exchanged contracts and completed
- What you paid and what you sold it for
- Buying, selling and improvement costs
- Any reliefs or exemptions you are claiming
Ask your UK conveyancer for the completion statement on the day of completion. The 60 days run from completion, not from when the money reaches you.
Which part of the gain is taxable at all
For non-residents, HMRC's standard approach for UK residential property is to use the market value at 5 April 2015 as the starting cost, so only growth since then is in scope. Two alternatives are allowed: time-apportioning the whole gain by the share of ownership after 5 April 2015, or working out the gain over the whole period of ownership, which HMRC says may only be worth considering if you made a loss. If you bought after April 2015, your actual purchase price is the starting point.
Private Residence Relief, and the 90-day rule
Private Residence Relief can cover all or part of the gain if the property was your residence. Under HMRC's HS283 helpsheet and GOV.UK's guidance:
- The final 9 months of ownership always qualify, provided the house was your only or main residence at some point.
- Absences of up to 3 years for any reason can qualify, and time working outside the UK can count, but you must have lived in the home before and after the absence unless your work prevented it. If you moved to Nigeria for good, this rarely helps.
- Letting Relief applies only when you shared the home with a tenant while living there. It does not apply when the whole house was let.
The rule that catches people who have moved back is in sections 222B and 222C of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992. A tax year counts as a non-qualifying year, in which the house is treated as not your residence, if neither you nor your spouse or civil partner was resident in the UK and the day count test was not met. The test is met if you spend at least 90 days in the year in the house, or in other UK houses you or your spouse have an interest in. Days need not be consecutive, a day counts if you are there at the end of it, and your spouse's days count as yours without being counted twice. Part years are pro-rated.
Worked example (illustrative)
Example only, with simplified figures. Bisi bought her London flat in 2012. Its value at 5 April 2015 was £250,000. She lived in it until she moved to Lagos, let it out, and sold it for £340,000 with £6,000 of selling costs.
| Step | Figure |
|---|---|
| Sale price less selling costs (£340,000 − £6,000) | £334,000 |
| Less 5 April 2015 value | £250,000 |
| Gain in scope | £84,000 |
| Months from April 2015 to sale (assumed) | 143 |
| Qualifying months: lived there, plus final 9 (assumed) | 99 |
| Private Residence Relief (£84,000 × 99 ÷ 143) | £58,154 |
| Chargeable gain | £25,846 |
| Less annual exempt amount | £3,000 |
| Taxable gain | £22,846 |
| Tax at 18% / at 24% | £4,112.28 / £5,483.04 |
GOV.UK gives the 2026-27 rates as 18% and 24%, and the annual exempt amount as £3,000. Which rate applies depends on your taxable UK income for the year. HMRC's calculator works out the qualifying months and rate for your own dates, so use it rather than this sketch.
The Nigerian side
The UK-Nigeria double taxation convention lets each country tax gains under its own law (Article 13) and gives credit for tax paid in the other (Article 22). Whether, and how, Nigeria taxes a Nigerian resident on the sale of a foreign home under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 is not settled in the sources we checked, so ask a Nigerian tax adviser before you bring the money home. Our guide to the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 for the diaspora covers the wider changes, and this worked example shows how credit works when both countries tax a sale.
Where Pryme fits
Sale proceeds can be received in pounds into a multicurrency account and held as pounds until you choose to convert with Swap, which shows the rate and fee before you approve. Keep the completion statement and HMRC payment reference together; a verifiable statement can help when a Nigerian bank asks where the money came from. This is information, not tax advice.
Questions people ask
Do I have to report the sale of my UK house if I live in Nigeria and no tax is due?
Yes. HMRC says non-residents must report every disposal of UK property or land within the deadline, even with no tax to pay or a loss.
When does the 60-day clock start?
From the completion date of the sale, for completions on or after 27 October 2021.
Does private residence relief still apply after I move to Nigeria?
For the years it was your main home, and for the final 9 months. Tax years abroad in which neither you nor your spouse spent at least 90 days in the property are generally treated as non-qualifying.
Can my sister in the UK file the return for me?
Yes, if she has proof of authority such as a lasting power of attorney. She reports through her own account and must use the paper form for any changes.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Report and pay your Capital Gains Tax, UK property (updated 20 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax for non-residents, UK residential property (updated 13 Jan 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Work out your tax if you're a non-resident selling UK property or land (updated 6 Apr 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- HMRC: HS283 Private Residence Relief 2026 (updated 6 Apr 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- legislation.gov.uk: TCGA 1992 section 222C, the day count test · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax rates and allowances (updated 2 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.