UK CGT 2026. Post-Oct-2024 rates.

How UK CGT actually works in 2026

Capital Gains Tax is the tax you pay on the profit when you dispose of (usually sell) a chargeable asset. The mechanic is conceptually simple — gain minus allowance, taxed at the relevant rate — but the rate determination involves your other income, the asset type, and several specific reliefs. The 30 October 2024 Budget materially changed the main rates upward; many calculators and articles still circulate showing the pre-Budget figures.

The rates that apply now

For disposals on or after 30 October 2024, the main CGT rates rose to 18% within the basic-rate band and 24% above — applied to shares, funds, ETFs, cryptocurrencies and most other chargeable assets. These are the rates this calculator uses. Disposals before that date in 2024/25 were at the older 10% / 20% (or 18% / 24% for residential property — which had been 18% / 28% before April 2024 and stayed at 18% / 24% through the October 2024 changes).

Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR), formerly Entrepreneurs' Relief, also climbed: 14% for 2025/26 and 18% for 2026/27 onwards. The £1 million lifetime cap on qualifying gains remains unchanged. Investor's Relief follows the same rate trajectory as BADR.

The Annual Exempt Amount — a fraction of what it used to be

The AEA has been cut twice in successive years: from £12,300 in 2022/23 to £6,000 in 2023/24 to £3,000 from 2024/25 onwards. The fourfold cut means many small disposals that previously had no CGT consequence now do. A £5,000 share gain that would have been entirely sheltered in 2022/23 now triggers tax on £2,000.

Each individual gets the £3,000 — so couples disposing of a jointly-owned asset effectively have £6,000 of AEA between them. Trustees get a reduced AEA of £1,500. Companies don't use the AEA — chargeable gains are taxed as part of Corporation Tax with no exempt amount.

The income-aware band split (the bit most calculators get wrong)

CGT isn't a flat rate — it depends on where your gains "sit" on top of your other taxable income. The basic-rate income tax band spans £12,571 to £50,270 across the whole UK (Scotland's narrower 21% / 42% bands don't apply to CGT). The amount of this band you've not used with your other income is what gets taxed at the lower 18% CGT rate; anything above goes at 24%.

Worked example: £40,000 of other income, £15,000 share gain.

• Gain £15,000 − AEA £3,000 = £12,000 taxable gain
• Basic-rate band remaining = £50,270 − £40,000 = £10,270
• £10,270 of gain × 18% = £1,848.60
• £1,730 of gain × 24% = £415.20
• Total CGT = £2,264 (effective rate 15.1% on the headline £15k gain)

Calculators that simply ask "are you a basic or higher rate taxpayer?" miss this band-split entirely — they either undercharge basic-rate taxpayers with big gains or overcharge higher-rate taxpayers with modest gains.

Why Scotland matters here

Scotland's higher rate of income tax (42%) starts at £43,663 — but for CGT purposes, all UK residents use the rUK basic-rate band of £37,700 (the slice between £12,570 and £50,270). A Scottish taxpayer earning £45,000 pays Scottish higher-rate income tax on the slice above £43,662 — but still gets the lower 18% CGT rate on any capital gain up to the £50,270 UK-wide threshold. This is one of the few areas where the Scottish tax system is actually more favourable than its income-tax counterpart suggests.

The spouse transfer — the single most-used CGT optimisation

Transfers between spouses and civil partners are exempt from CGT. The asset moves on a "no gain, no loss" basis — the receiving spouse inherits the original cost basis. By transferring half (or all) of an asset to your spouse before disposal, you can:

• Use both £3,000 AEAs — covering up to £6,000 of gain tax-free
• Use both basic-rate band remainders — particularly powerful if one spouse has low or zero other income
• Shelter gains in the partner with the lower marginal rate — same effect as the previous point

Critically, the transfer has to be a genuine change of beneficial ownership, properly documented. For shares: a stock transfer form, or re-registration with the broker. For property: a deed of gift or trust declaration, and Land Registry updates if applicable. HMRC look closely at transfers made days before a disposal where ownership change wasn't substantive.

Carried-forward losses — net before AEA

Capital losses can be carried forward indefinitely (provided you registered them with HMRC on a Self Assessment return within 4 years of the loss arising). Losses must be used in the order they were realised — earliest first — and they net against gains before the AEA is applied. The implication: you can't use the AEA to "save" losses for a higher-gain future year. If you have a £3,000 gain and £3,000 of losses, the losses fully extinguish the gain (£0 taxable) and the £3,000 AEA goes unused.

When CGT is actually due

Two separate timelines:

• UK residential property: 60-day CGT return + payment, both due within 60 days of completion. Penalties for late filing apply automatically.
• All other disposals (shares, crypto, business assets, foreign property): reported on the normal Self Assessment return by 31 January following the end of the tax year, with tax due then. So a share disposal in May 2026 isn't due until 31 January 2028 — nearly two years later.

Things this tool deliberately doesn't model

• Section 104 share-pooling rules for shares acquired in tranches at different prices. The tool assumes a single weighted-average cost basis you've calculated yourself. Most brokers provide this on their year-end statements.
• Bed-and-breakfast (30-day) rules. Buying back the same shares within 30 days of a disposal triggers specific matching rules — the gain or loss is calculated against the repurchase, not against the pool.
• Main residence relief (Private Residence Relief). If the property is your only/main home throughout, no CGT applies. The tool's "residential property" mode is for additional homes (rental, holiday let, second home).
• Foreign property and non-domiciled rules — specialist territory; consult a tax adviser.
• Lifetime BADR tracking. The £1m cap is per individual over their lifetime — if you've used some already, only the unused portion qualifies for the relief rate.
• EIS / SEIS / VCT disposals which have their own (often nil) CGT treatment.
• Charitable donation reliefs for disposals to charity.