Capital Gains Tax

If you live in the UK and make a capital gain, capital gains tax might be payable to HM Revenue & Customs. To see capital gains tax rates, click here:   Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax

What is a capital gain?

When you sell an investment, a house, a valuable possession (such as antique furniture), or a business, you may get more than you paid for it. A capital gain is the ‘profit’ you make on this sort of sale.

You can make a capital gain even when there is no sale

You don’t always have to sell something. You may also make capital gain when you give away such an item, or sell it at less than its market value {glossary}. In such cases, the capital gain is worked out by comparing its market value with its original cost (plus any improvement expenditure).

In the sections below we look at some of the issues you may come across with capital gains tax:

• Things which may be ignored for capital gains tax
• Remember the losses
• The annual exemption
• Working out the tax due
• Telling HMRC about a capital gain
• Selling your main private residence
• Selling your business

You can find out more about capital gains tax on the HMRC website here.