Can a primary residence that was previously your rental property be eligible for the six year rule?

 Author: YellowPotato(Taxicorn)Taxicorn

3 July 2025

If when I first bought a property, I rented it out for a few months before moving into it and making it my primary residence, does that disqualify the property from ever being eligible for the six year capital gains exemption if I were to move away and rent out the property?

• No, it does not disqualify from using the former main residence rules
• 'been your main residence first' - it's not saying it was main residence from purchase, it's that first criteria is that it has been your main residence. If no main residence period, then no former main residence rules can be used

does that just mean that when I sell the property I'll have to pay CGT on the period that it was rented out prior to making it my primary residence, and that I will still be eligible for the six year capital gains exemption as long as it was my primary residence directly prior to when I move away and start renting it out?

• Yes there would be CGT at least for the rented out period prior to moving in. There may be more CGT for other periods, there's examples on the page you linked such as Example: ending the period covered by the choice early
• After a property is used as a main residence, when absent from property, former main residence rules can be used, 6 years in total (doesn't have to happen in one go) for incoming producing purposes and indefinite when left vacant. To reset 6 years, would need to move back in, to make it a main residence again.

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