House Clearance Allowance

Three siblings have just sold their parent’s house. Most of the CGT inputs are very straight forward. However, one of the sibling’s accountants has proposed that the cost of house clearance can be argued as an expense as the house was stacked high and could not have been sold in that state. Anything I have read indicates this is incorrect. I have downloaded the guides but they are non specific on this subject. Can someone please confirm either way.

Hi,

No, the house would need to have been emptied even if one of the siblings moved in. It is therefore not wholly and exclusively related to the sale. You can see guidance here:

CG15250 - Expenditure: incidental costs of acquisition and disposal

Thank you.

Thank you. Just for others who may look this up - as I had not received a reply after a week I phoned the help line as was told by a “technician” if it was necessary before selling it could be claimed. Seems HMRC are inconsistent on this…