JT Moore v HMRC

in JT Moore v HMRC (TC00710 – 12 October) an individual (M) purchased a terraced house which was in poor condition in 1999. He renovated it and sold it in 2004. HMRC issued an assessment charging CGT and M appealed contending that he should be entitled to principal private residence relief because he had lived at the property for two months while he had been renovating it. The First-Tier Tribunal reviewed the evidence and dismissed the appeal finding that M’s fiancée had refused to live in the property and that M had never occupied it as his main residence.

Why it matters: It is important to be able to provide some documentary evidence in support of claims to private residence relief. On the evidence here the appellant’s fiancée had refused to live in the house in question. Although the appellant gave evidence...