Capital gains tax : recent developments

What is capital gains tax?

Capital gains tax is charged on the profit someone makes when they dispose of an asset that has increased in value. The tax is charged on the gain that is made on the disposal, rather than the amount of money that is received. For example, if someone purchases a painting for £5,000 and sells it subsequently for £25,000, they are liable to tax on the £20,000 gain they made.

In this context, ‘disposing’ of an asset includes:

• selling it,
• giving it away as a gift, or transferring it to someone else,
• swapping it for something else, and
• getting compensation for it (such as an insurance payout if the asset has been lost or destroyed).

Certain assets can be disposed of without any tax liability, including the sale of someone’s own residence. In addition assets that are given or sold to one’s spouse or civil partner can be done without incurring a taxable gain. Individuals may make gains over a tax year up to an annual exempt amount before having to pay any tax. This annual exemption is set at £3,000 for 2025/26.

Capital gains tax is also paid by trusts. For trusts the annual exempt amount is set at £1,500 for 2025/26. It is set at £3,000 for this year if the beneficiary of the trust is vulnerable (that is, a disabled person or a child whose parent has died). Gains made by companies are not within the scope of capital gains tax, but are charged corporation tax instead.

How much does the tax raise, and how many people pay it?

In 2024/25, CGT raised £13.3 billion. By comparison income tax raised £310 billion in the same year.

The most recent estimates for the numbers of individuals paying the tax published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) cover the tax year 2022/23. In this year 348,000 people paid CGT. 21,000 trusts paid the tax in the same year. By comparison 34.6 million people paid income tax in 2022/23.

HMRC publish detailed statistics on the tax. This notes that most of the receipts from capital gains tax in a given year come from the small number of taxpayers who make the largest gains in that year. In 2023/23, 41% of receipts came from individuals who made capital gains of £5 million or more in that year. This group represents less than 1% of CGT taxpayers.

What are the rates of capital gains tax?

The rates of capital gains tax (CGT) depend on the income of the individual and the type of asset being disposed of.

For 2025/26, the rates are as follows:

• 18% on gains from most assets, including residential property. This rate is paid by basic-rate taxpayers.
• 24% on gains from most assets, including residential property, when the individual is a higher-rate taxpayer.
• 32% on ‘carried interest’, a performance-based reward for investment managers.
• 14% on gains made by sole traders and partners selling their business. This lower rate is part of the Business Asset Disposal Relief, up to a lifetime limit of £1 million.
• The lower 14% rate is also part of the Investors Relief, applicable to individual investors selling shares in a trading company not listed on the stock exchange, up to a lifetime limit of £1 million.

What changes to the tax were made in the 2024 Autumn Budget?

In her Budget statement on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced increases in both the lower rate of CGT (from 10% to 18%) and the higher rate of CGT (from 20% to 24%). These rate increases took immediate effect. The rates of CGT on residential property would remain unchanged. The two rates of CGT on carried interest would be replaced with a single 32% rate from 6 April 2025.

The Chancellor also announced a two-stage increase in the rate for both Business Asset Disposal Relief and Investors’ Relief:

• an increase from 10% to 14% from 6 April 2025, and
• an increase from 14% to 18% from 6 April 2026.

Finally, the lifetime limit for Investors’ Relief would be reduced to £1 million for all qualifying disposals made on or after 30 October 2024, matching the lifetime limit for Business Asset Disposal Relief.

The increases in the main rates of CGT, and the two-stage increase in the rate for Business Asset Disposal Relief and Investors’ Relief, are forecast to raise £90 million in 2024/25, rising to £1.44 billion in 2025/26.

Provision to make these changes to CGT was included in the Finance Bill 2024‑25, which was introduced on 6 November 2024. These provisions now form sections 7-12 and schedules 1-2 of the Finance Act 2025.

Further reading

This briefing discusses the development of CGT since 2008. Two Commons Library briefing papers discuss the development of the tax up to this point:

• Commons Library briefing paper CBP860 Capital gains tax: background history, 2 June 2010
• Commons Library briefing paper CBP4652, Capital gains tax: the 2008 reforms, 3 June 2010.