Is timing an issue when I am trying to offset losses against capital gains?

I have recently agreed a sale on a property but have not yet agreed to a final closing date. I want time to organise old shares that I have made losses on to write off against the gains. I pay my income tax at the end of October. Is there any value in delaying the sale until December or January and if I did, when would capital gains tax (CGT) need to be paid?COCDealing with capital gains can involve a certain degree of timing, especially when you are trying to offset losses against any gains arising to reduce your tax exposure.READ MOREYou don’t clarify whether the losses you mention relate to the sale of shares in previous years or whether you are simply giving up the ghost on some shares you still own but which are trading below whatever price you paid for them.The position with losses is that they are first set against any gains that arise in the same year. If, having done that, some losses remain outstanding, they can be carried forward for however many years are required until other gains arise to offset the losses outstanding.So, if your losses relate to shares sold in previous years, there is no great advantage in messing around with the timing of closing the sale on your property – especially if there is any prospect that such a move could imperil the sale.However, if you still hold these loss-making shares, then you might need a bit of time to sell them so those losses can be offset against any gain on the sale of the property. The key here is that losses cannot be offset against a gain or gains in previous years.So if you sell the property this year at a gain and do not crystallise the losses until next year, they would be no good to you in reducing your CGT bill on the sale of the property.When it comes to timing and tax, the rules are fairly straightforward but they have no relationship to the income-tax deadline.[ My outstanding balance is about €59,000, do I really still need mortgage protection?Opens in new window ]If a capital gain is crystallised – for instance by closing the sale of this property – between January 1st and November 30th in any year, the tax is due to be paid by December 15th the same year. For gains that arise in December of any year, the bill falls due one month later, at the end of January the following year.So, if you close this property sale before the end of the year, any tax arising will fall due fairly quickly. If, however, you did not close the sale until January, the tax would not fall due until December 15th of next year.But January is still three months away. You could well risk your buyer walking away if they felt they were being strung along in that fashion.As long as you have your losses crystallised, I think, on balance, there is no real benefit in delaying the sale of this property unduly.When it comes to filing details of any gain with Revenue, you actually have until October 31st the year following the one in which you sell the asset, though it may well make sense to act sooner given the payment deadlines.Even if no tax was payable – either because of certain reliefs or offsetting losses – you are still obliged to file a return so that Revenue can keep track of things.Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to dominic.coyle@irishtimes.com with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice.