After the barrage of complaints from the UK's small business community following Chancellor Alistair Darling's announcement late last year of an 18% flat rate of Capital Gains Tax (CGT), a major change to the regime was announced in January. This sees the introduction of a 10% 'entrepreneur relief' on any capital gain up to 1 million pounds.

However, this recent change does not offer any help to the UK's largest group of entrepreneurs - buy-to-let landlords. This means that on the sale of a property, they will still need to pay 18% on any gain made above the annual CGT limit (currently 9,200 pounds) from 6 April onwards.

'There are, however, many ways in which buy-to-let landlords can reduce their CGT liability', says Cheryl Page of King's Lynn solicitors Ward Gethin. 'The key is to understand the rules from day one and plan accordingly. For example, married couples can use both their CGT allowances and there are other reliefs (eg holdover or main residence relief) that could be exploited.

However, every situation is different, and it is important to get the personal advice of an expert in the field, such as a specialised tax lawyer.'

Anyone wishing to make plans for reducing the amount of CGT they might pay should contact our Wills and Probate Team at Ward Gethin on 01553 660033 to discuss their circumstances.