There is no tax to pay on the proceeds from your ‘principal private residence’

However from April 2015 people with more than two properties can no longer choose which is to be treated as their main home for capital gains tax purposes. Instead a test must be completed counting days spent in each property to determine which is in fact going to be treated as the main home.

So for an individual who rents during the week or lives in employer provided accommodation to be near to work but then goes home at the weekend may have to prove that the main home is in fact the ‘weekend cottage’.

There is to be a consultation on how this test is to be framed.