HMRC has revised its published guidance regarding the 20-hour test for landlord Incorporation Relief, as detailed in its Capital Gains Manual at CG65715. The update, published on 20 August 2026, confirms that individuals spending less than 20 hours weekly on property activities may still be considered to be carrying on a business for the purposes of section 162 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992.
While HMRC officers are still instructed to accept Incorporation Relief where 20 hours or more are spent weekly on business-indicative activities, the amended guidance now states that cases with fewer than 20 hours should be carefully considered. Officers are directed to establish the facts and review wider business factors before making a decision.
This clarification addresses concerns that the 20-hour figure, derived from the 2013 Upper Tribunal case of Elisabeth Moyne Ramsay v HMRC, had become an unofficial minimum requirement. The Upper Tribunal in that case concluded that Mrs Ramsay's activities, involving approximately 20 hours per week, constituted a business, but did not establish this as a legal threshold for all landlords.