Shares and investments
Acquisitions, disposals, corporate actions and share identification rules are reconciled before gains are calculated.
Capital Gains Tax is generally charged on the gain arising when a chargeable asset is sold, transferred, gifted or otherwise disposed of rather than on the amount received. The calculation can involve original cost, enhancement expenditure, transaction costs, losses, reliefs and the taxpayer's available Income Tax basic-rate band.
The disposal should be reconstructed before the tax rate is applied. Share pools, historic acquisitions, reorganisations, gifts, jointly owned assets and previous capital losses can materially change the taxable gain even where the sale proceeds themselves are straightforward.
Approximate purchase and disposal details are sufficient for the first enquiry. Full records can follow securely.
Prefer to call? 0800 135 7323
The gain must be calculated before rates and reliefs are applied. Sale proceeds alone do not determine the taxable amount.
The correct computation starts with the disposal proceeds and allowable acquisition and disposal costs, then considers enhancement expenditure, share identification rules, capital losses, reliefs and the annual exempt amount before the applicable CGT rate is determined.
The service can cover a single disposal or a portfolio of transactions requiring share matching, loss reconciliation or specialist relief analysis.
Acquisitions, disposals, corporate actions and share identification rules are reconciled before gains are calculated.
Share or business sales can require review of Business Asset Disposal Relief and other transaction-specific provisions.
Market-value rules and any available hold-over relief are considered where assets are transferred below market value.
Private Residence Relief, acquisition history and separate property-reporting deadlines can affect the calculation and filing route.
Current and historic losses are checked for validity, notification and availability against taxable gains.
Residence, foreign currency conversion, foreign tax and international reliefs are considered for foreign disposals.
The transaction is reconstructed first and the reporting route is chosen only after the taxable gain or loss has been established.
Asset, ownership, dates, proceeds and connected-party relationships are identified.
Purchase cost, fees, qualifying enhancement expenditure and relevant share-pool data are assembled.
Capital losses, exemptions and transaction-specific reliefs are applied where the statutory conditions are met.
The gain is reported through the applicable property return, Self Assessment return or other authorised CGT reporting route.
The basic gain formula is only the starting point. Different asset classes contain their own identification rules, reliefs and reporting requirements.
A disposal does not necessarily require a commercial sale. Gifts, exchanges, transfers to connected persons and certain company reorganisations can all create or defer capital gains. The legal transaction should therefore be identified before deciding whether CGT is payable immediately.
GOV.UK explains the information required to calculate and report capital gains and the different routes for UK residential property and other assets.
Official CGT reporting guidance ↗Current guidance explains how allowable losses are used and the normal four-year period for notifying a capital loss.
Official loss guidance ↗The individual's CGT rate depends partly on taxable income because gains can straddle the Income Tax basic-rate limit.
A gain does not simply use one CGT rate based on whether the individual usually pays basic or higher-rate Income Tax. Taxable income and taxable gains are combined to determine how much of the gain, if any, falls within the available basic-rate band.
Current GOV.UK guidance confirms the £3,000 annual exempt amount and 18% and 24% individual rates for 2026/27.
Official CGT rates ↗Relevant UK residential property disposals generally need to be reported and paid within 60 days of completion.
Property CGT reporting ↗The underlying asset can bring separate property, crypto, employee-share, international or business-tax rules into the calculation.
The annual exempt amount for an individual is £3,000 for the 2026/27 tax year.
For ordinary chargeable gains arising in 2026/27, the general individual rates are 18% within the available basic-rate band and 24% above it.
No. CGT is generally calculated on the chargeable gain after allowable acquisition cost, qualifying expenditure, allowable losses, reliefs and the annual exempt amount are considered.
An allowable capital loss can normally be notified to HMRC up to four years after the end of the tax year in which the disposal occurred.
Where the statutory UK property reporting conditions are met, the gain and any CGT due generally need to be reported and paid within 60 days of completion.
Not necessarily. A gift is generally a disposal for CGT purposes, and market value can be substituted where the recipient is connected or the transaction is otherwise not at arm's length. Specific reliefs can sometimes defer the gain.
Transfers between spouses or civil partners living together are generally made on a no-gain/no-loss basis, although the detailed history remains relevant when the recipient later disposes of the asset.
Where the taxpayer is required to file Self Assessment, the property disposal may also need to be included in the annual return even though a separate UK property CGT return and payment were already made.