You heard the tax you pay on a property sale can be cut if the property has been let as residential accommodation. This sounds too good to be true, so what are the facts?

Fact 1
You must live in the property, or part of the property, as your main residence either before or during the time it is let out. This tax relief cannot apply to a buy-to-let property that you have never lived in yourself.

Fact 2
The tax relief is restricted to the lower of the gain that is exempt due to using the property as your main home, the gain attributed to the let period, and £40,000.

Fact 3
Even if you only live in the property for a short period the gain attributed to the last three years of ownership is also exempt from tax. The gain is always allocated equally across the ownership period, although the gain may have actually arisen in an uneven pattern.