So you managed to get a sale to go through. You know you have to declare and pay the capital gains tax within 60 days of the sale so you start the process. Down the line you’re surprised to find out that even though you paid the tax within 60 days of the cash dropping in to your account it was still late!
Why is this? Well for capital gains tax it’s worth noting that the effective date of sale is normally when contracts are exchanged not the date of completion. This might not be much different for many people these days as solicitors tend to exchange and complete all at once but there are still some contracts that are exchanged far in advance of the eventual completion. If this is you then you may have to report based on the exchange which, if far enough ahead of completion, will mean you might have to pay the tax before you even get the proceeds.