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What are Capital Gains Tax rates in UK?

  • 2 min read
  • Last updated 31 Oct 2024

Heads up! As of the 31st October 2024, the lower rate of Capital Gains Tax will increase from 10% to 18%, while the higher rate will rise from 20% to 24%. 

If you’re selling a second home, don’t worry – the current rates of 18% and 24% for property sales aren’t changing.

🚨For the full scoop on this year’s Autumn Budget, check out our blog. 🚨

If you’re wondering what the Capital Gains Tax rates are in the UK this tax year, we’ve broken it down for you, so keep reading!

You need to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) when you make a profit from selling valuable assets – this includes:

  • Shares
  • Cryptocurrencies
  • Art
  • Property
  • Selected antiques
  • Fine jewellery

Capital Gains Tax rates in the UK for 2024/25

For the 2023/2024 tax year capital gains tax rates are:

  • 10% (18% for residential property) for your entire capital gain if your overall annual income is below £50,270
  • 20% (24% for residential property) for your entire capital gain if your overall annual income is above the £50,270 threshold

Individuals now only have a £3,000 capital gains tax allowance. In the 2022/23 tax year, it was £12,300. This means your capital gains up to £3,000 only are tax free.

Normally you don’t have to pay any capital tax on selling your main home.

The rate of CGT differs from income tax rates and largely depends on what asset you are selling – so your shiny jewellery will probably be taxed at a different rate than your second home.

Capital Gains Tax rates

Type of assetBasic rateHigher rate
Shares10%20%
Residential property18%24%
Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency10%20%
Other10%20%

Tax-free allowance

Allowance forAnnual exempt amount
Individuals£3,000
Trusts£3,000

Use your tax-free allowance to be more tax-efficient

Our accredited accountants can help you understand your tax position to be more tax-efficient and reduce your tax bill. Get tax advice by booking a 30-minute, 1-1 tax advice consultation today for a low-cost, one-off fee.

Capital loss

Luckily, if you’ve made a loss by selling your asset, you can report this to HMRC and you may be entitled to tax relief. This is called allowable losses, however, there is a slight catch. You cannot claim allowable losses if:

  • You’ve sold or given an asset to a spouse 
  • You’ve sold or given an asset to a family member
  • You’ve sold or given an asset to a connected person, i.e a business partner or in-laws
  • You’ve sold a non-chargeable asset 

Wasting assets

You won’t have to pay Capital Gains Tax on all assets you sell. Assets deemed to have a lifespan of less than 50 years are less likely to incur profit, so they are referred to as wasting assets. This includes:

  • Cars
  • Natural resources such as coal and natural gas
  • Machinery
  • Furniture

Business asset disposal relief

When you sell your business or a percentage of your business, you will have to pay Capital Gains Tax. Don’t be disheartened though! You may be entitled to a fixed CGT rate of 10% due to the business asset disposal relief – formerly known as the Entrepreneur’s Relief. 

There are only two requirements to qualify for this reduction; you have to:

  • Be a sole trader
  • Have owned your business for two years

Still not sure if you owe CGT?

There’s nothing like speaking to a real, human expert. Get matched with your very own accredited tax accountant who will file your tax return and also give you a one-off tax advice consultation. Just £229, all in.

If you need to quickly see how much tax you need to pay view our capital gains tax calculator.

Your situation

Outlined number oneImage of an arrow
How did you make money?
Profit from capital gains
£
Annual salary
?
£
Other income
?
£

Tax and profit

Outlined number two
  • Your profit from
    shares
    £20,000
    £3,000 tax-free CGT allowance
    ?
  • Capital Gains Tax to pay
    £3,273
  • Profit after tax
    £16,727

How your capital gains tax is calculated

The total capital gains tax (CGT) you owe depends on two things:

  • How much you earn in total
  • What type of assets you sell

Your overall earnings determine how much of your capital gains are taxed at – 10% or 20%.
Our capital gains tax rates guide explains this in more detail.

In your case where your capital gains from shares were £20,000 and your total annual earnings were £69,000:

Capital gains tax (CGT) breakdown

You pay no CGT on the first £3,000 that you make

You pay £127 at 10% tax rate for the next £1,270 of your capital gains

You pay £3,146 at 20% tax rate on the remaining £15,730 of your capital gains

Tax bill amount £3,273
I want to pay by
Savings frequency

You need to save

£4.91 per day

to pay your £3,273.00 tax bill by 31/1/2026 which is in 666 days

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