What are UK Capital Gains Tax Rates?

How do you know which capital gains tax rate applies to you? There are four main considerations to bear in mind:

• What category of asset has been disposed of?
• Has the disposal led to a gain?
• What is the financial value of that gain?
• What is the personal tax position of the individual who made the disposal?

 

Category of disposed asset

 

The kind of assets that may lead to capital gains tax, if disposed, include, but are not limited to:

• residential property that is not your main home, for instance, a holiday let or a house that you rent out to tenants
• any shares you hold which are not connected to an ISA
• business assets, such as shares in a business or items that you own which are used in a business
• personal possessions with a value of over £6,000 but not private cars

If you dispose of an asset that is chargeable under capital gains tax, you must work out whether this resulted in a gain. Remember that a disposal is not necessarily a sale – it could be a transfer or a gift.

Capital gains tax generally doesn’t come into play in the sale of a home, where the property is your main place of residence. Any gain made on such a sale would be exempt from capital gains tax.

If you dispose of any other UK property, however, capital gains tax generally will apply at an 8% surcharge on the usual rate.

 

Did the disposal result in a gain?

 

Capital gains tax is charged on gains over your annual tax-free allowance each year. The capital gains allowance for 2023/2024 is £6000 or £3000 for trusts.

Where an asset is sold, subtract from the sale price both the purchase price and any money spent on the asset during your ownership. This calculation will tell you whether the sale resulted in a gain.

Where an asset is transferred for a nil amount, for instance, a gift to a grandchild by way of a trust, this disposal will be treated as if the market value had been received. There may, however, be certain reliefs applicable in such a situation that may reduce the amount of capital gains tax incurred.

Allowable costs may also come into play depending on the category of asset, for instance, reducing capital gains tax in the case of a property disposal by including the value of legal fees in the calculation of the gain.

 

Who is affected by capital gains tax rates?

 

If you are self-employed, a sole trader or a business partner, it is important that you remain aware of current capital gains tax rates and your resulting tax liability.

Non doms, non-residents and expatriates should also ensure that they are fully aware of the current capital gains tax rules.

Limited companies, by comparison, are not subject to capital gains tax but instead pay corporation tax.

 

How does your personal tax position affect the capital gains tax rates you pay?

 

The first consideration is what income tax band you fall into.

Higher-rate taxpayers incur a charge of 20% on gains from all relevant chargeable assets except for residential property. Basic rate taxpayers pay 10% capital gains tax until their income and gains together amount to more than the basic rate band for the relevant tax year, which for 2023/2024 is £37,700. At this point, their tax rate will change to 20%.

Where the capital gain is related to the disposal of residential property, there is an 8% surcharge on top of your capital gains tax rate (20% increasing to 28%, for instance), unless the property is your main home.

Where an interest in a business is sold, be that part or the whole of a company or shares in that company, and the resulting gain is eligible for Business Asset Disposal Relief (previously known as Entrepreneurs’ Relief prior to 6 April 2020), a tax rate of 10% will apply.

Due to the role that income tax plays in deciding capital gains tax rates, it is always advised that you consider your wider tax situation and that of your family members. Looking at the bigger picture and planning ahead may allow you to reduce your capital gains tax liability, for instance, by moving income between family members, or splitting gains between tax years, within the current tax legislation.

Any disposal that results in a gain must be reported to HMRC as part of your annual self-assessment tax return, although you may wish to report the disposal straightaway.

 

Capital gains tax reliefs

 

There are a number of reliefs available against capital gains tax. Making full use of relevant reliefs and exemptions generally requires asset holders to plan and consider their options in advance of asset disposal.

Taking professional advice will assist in ensuring that you are not only informed of any relevant relief but also take advantage of the right reliefs for your tax situation.

Such reliefs could include:

 

Business Asset Disposal Relief

Where a gain is eligible, Business Asset Disposal Relief sets the chargeable rate at 10%. This is especially helpful where you are a higher rate taxpayer.

Provided specific eligibility criteria are met, this relief can be used in relation to the disposal of a company, or part of a company; disposal of company shares; sale of securities; disposal of assets lent to the company; or disposal assets held in a trust.

There is a lifetime limit of £1 million.

BADR is most commonly used for the sale of company shares. In such a case, eligibility requires that the shareholder disposing of shares must have been an employee or officeholder of the company for a minimum of one year prior to the disposal, and that the activities of the company must largely be trading unless it is a holding company for such.

 

Investors’ relief

Investor’s relief sets the capital gains tax rate at 10% and applies to investment in unquoted companies where the investor has no direct involvement during the period of holding shares.

It applies to shares issued on or after 17 March 2016 that are disposed of on or after 6 April 2019, provided the shares have been owned for at least 3 years up to the date of disposal.

There is a lifetime limit of £10 million.

 

Business asset roll over relief

Using this form of relief may allow you to delay the payment of capital gains tax after the disposal of certain types of business asset, as long as you buy replacements within three years.

 

Gift holdover relief

Using this type of relief may remove capital gains tax liability where a business asset is given way. The liability then passes to the person who received the asset, should they make a gain on disposing of the asset.

Eligibility requires that:

• both you and the other party agree to this arrangement
• the asset was used by you in your business
• you are a sole trader or a partner in your business

Should there be any unused allowable losses in previous years, these can be brought forward to the current year to reduce capital gains tax liability.

Gift holdover relief may also be applicable for the transfer of assets into a trust.

 

Incorporation relief

This type of relief may be used to delay payment of capital gains tax when transferring a business to a company in return for shares until you dispose of the shares.

Eligibility includes that you are part of a business partnership or a sole trader, and that the business and its assets are transferred in return for company shares.

 

Loss relief

Loss relief can be used to reduce a capital gains tax liability by offsetting a capital loss against any taxable gains.

Any losses in a tax year may be carried forward to offset future taxable gains.

However, if you make a claim under the capital allowance scheme, this amount must be deducted from any loss you wish to offset against gains.

 

Private residence relief

The sale or otherwise disposal of an individual’s home is usually exempt from capital gains tax.

However, where any part of the home has been used for the sole purpose of business, you may be required to pay capital gains tax on that section of the property.

 

Enterprise Investment Schemes

Any gains resulting from an Enterprise Investment Scheme are exempt from capital gains tax after a period of three years.

During the first three years, however, it may be possible to defer, reduce or completely remove any capital gains tax liability through the use of deferral or disposal reliefs.