My daughter bought a property in 2001 with her husband for £53,500. They divorced in 2003. She bought his share out for £10,000. She has now sold the property, and is not sure how to deal with capital gains tax. Usually she would use the original price £53,000 but she in total paid £63,000 due to buying him out. How does she deal with this please?

Arthur Weller replies:
Her base cost is half the original £53,500 (= £26,750), i.e. the value of the half she always owned, plus the value of the half she acquired from her ex in 2003. For this second half, you use the market value of half the house in 2003. The figure of £10,000 is ignored. So, for example, if the house was worth £60,000 in 2003, her total base cost is £26,750 + £30,000 = £56,750.