Capital gains tax returns

The annual exempt amount is £3,000. Gains above it are taxed at 18% to the extent they fall within your unused basic rate band and 24% above it, for all asset types including residential property. Gains qualifying for business asset disposal relief are taxed at 14% in 2025/26, rising to 18% from April 2026, on up to £1 million of lifetime gains.

When a UK resident sells UK residential property and tax is due, they must file a return through HMRC's Capital Gains Tax on UK property service and pay the tax within 60 days of completion. This is separate from and in addition to the annual Self Assessment. Late filing penalties mirror Self Assessment: £100 immediately, then daily and tax-geared penalties.

No. Private residence relief exempts the gain for the period you lived there plus the final nine months of ownership, and certain periods of absence can qualify. The let period is taxable. Lettings relief now applies only where you shared occupation with the tenant. We apportion the gain by days and claim every qualifying period.

The purchase price, stamp duty and legal fees on purchase, capital improvements that are still reflected in the asset at sale (extensions, new kitchens, not repairs), and selling costs including agent and legal fees. For shares, dealing costs and stamp duty. For inherited assets, the probate value is the cost.

Disposals are matched first to shares bought the same day, then to shares bought in the following 30 days, then to the section 104 pool, which holds all other shares of that class at their average cost. The same rules apply to funds and to crypto. We run the matching across your full history.

Yes, if they were claimed on a return within four years of the tax year in which they arose. Current-year losses are set against current-year gains first, even if that wastes the annual exemption; brought-forward losses are only used to the extent needed to bring gains down to the exemption. We check for unclaimed historical losses as standard.

Formerly entrepreneurs' relief: a reduced rate on gains from selling all or part of a trading business, or shares in a trading company where you held at least 5% and were an officer or employee for two years. The lifetime limit is £1 million. The rate rose to 14% in April 2025 and to 18% from April 2026. Our £299 service prepares and supports the claim.

Yes. Gifts to anyone other than your spouse or civil partner are disposals at market value, and the gain is taxable even though no money changed hands. The 60-day return applies to residential property. Gift relief can defer gains on business assets, but not on investment property. We value, compute and report the gift.

No. Transfers between spouses or civil partners living together are at no gain and no loss; the recipient takes over the original cost. This allows both annual exemptions and both basic rate bands to be used on a later sale, which is a common and legitimate way to reduce the tax on a jointly planned disposal.

It depends on the scheme. Shares from a SAYE or SIP scheme have specific cost rules and sometimes income tax has already been paid on part of the value. Options exercised and sold on the same day may have no gain at all. We need the scheme documents and the exercise and sale figures, and we apply the correct treatment for each.

Yes. During the administration period the estate is a separate taxpayer with its own annual exemption and pays CGT at 24% on gains above probate value. Residential property sales by the estate are subject to the 60-day rule. We prepare the estate computations and the trust and estate return pages.

Yes. Non-residents must report all UK land and property disposals within 60 days, whether or not tax is due, and residential property gains are generally rebased to April 2015 values. The rules differ from those for residents and the penalties for not reporting are the same. We handle non-resident returns regularly.