Tax

[sponge]

Just a scenario....If you were to sell your house for 150,000 and buy a new home for 120,000 are you taxed on the 30,000 you have left??

[Hammer]

If it's your main residence, then no.

[sponge]

How do you prove a "main residence" eg, do you have to have lived there for x amount of time?

[kempie]

Here's a relevant page from Directgov

[kags]

In the scenario you quoted, the �30,000 is not a profit, it is just the amount you have left from the purchase, so it would not be taxed in any case. The profit is the sale price less the original purchase price(plus the cost of any improvements made).  If you have always lived in the house, and have not owned another house which you elected to have treated as your main residence for tax purposes or run a business from the property, then you will not be taxed on any sale profit.