Readers’ forum: Declaring the disposal of a property used for holiday lets

My client owns a house that was being used regularly as a holiday home until the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. It had also qualified as furnished holiday accommodation because it was rented out commercially for the required number of days each year.

Since the beginning of 2020 the property has still been available for holiday lettings but it was not actively marketed. So for the past two and a half years it has no longer fallen within the holiday accommodation parameters.

The client now wishes to sell the holiday home and has asked for my advice on the capital gains tax implications. I have two questions.

First does the property qualify as a business asset for the whole period of ownership or will I have to apportion the gain with the last two years or so not qualifying?

Second must I...