Capital Gains Tax has tightened materially across recent budget cycles. The annual exempt amount fell from £12,300 in 2022-23 to £3,000 from April 2024. The reporting deadline for UK residential property tightened from "by 31 January following tax year" to a hard 60 days post-completion. The higher rate dropped from 28% to 24% in April 2024 for residential, with non-residential gains at 10%/24%. For UK Self-Assessment filers in 2026, CGT touches property disposals, share sales, crypto trades, business exits, and gifts. This guide covers all five.
The 60-day property deadline is calendar days, not tax-year aligned
Completion on 1 March means the CGT report and payment is due by 30 April, regardless of the tax-year boundary. Late filing penalties start at £100 and escalate quickly. The annual Self-Assessment return still includes the same gain for reconciliation.
2026 CGT rates
CGT 2026-27
| Asset type | Basic rate | Higher rate | AEA |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK residential property | 18% | 24% | £3,000 |
| Other assets (shares, crypto, business) | 18% | 24% | £3,000 |
| BADR-qualifying business sale | 10% on first £1m lifetime | 10% on first £1m lifetime | Cap on lifetime gains |
| Trusts | N/A | 24% | £1,500 |
The 60-day residential property rule
The 60-day reporting and payment regime applies to:
- UK residential property disposed of by UK residents.
- UK residential property disposed of by non-UK residents (NRCGT).
- Properties sold above the buyer's and seller's combined exempt amount.
- Excludes disposals fully covered by Principal Private Residence Relief.
The 60-day return is a standalone HMRC submission, separate from Self-Assessment. Tax is paid based on the seller's estimated marginal rate. Reconciliation occurs on the annual Self-Assessment return: any overpayment is refunded; any underpayment is collected.
Crypto reporting on Self-Assessment
HMRC treats crypto disposals as taxable for CGT (not income tax, in most cases):
- 1Each disposal of crypto for fiat, for another crypto, or to pay for goods/services is a CGT event.
- 2The base cost is the GBP value at acquisition date.
- 3Disposals are matched to acquisitions using the share-pooling rules adapted to crypto: same-day acquisitions, then 30-day Bed-and-Breakfast rule, then a single pooled cost basis.
- 4Mining and staking rewards are typically taxed as miscellaneous income at receipt, with a separate CGT calculation on subsequent disposal.
- 5NFTs disposed of for value are CGT events; held NFTs are not.
Exchange data export is the practical compliance requirement
For active traders with hundreds or thousands of transactions per year, manual reconstruction is impractical. Most UK Self-Assessment filers with material crypto activity now use Koinly, Recap or Crypto Tax Calculator to compute the CGT report from exchange CSVs. The output integrates with most tax software.
Business Asset Disposal Relief: 10% on lifetime gains up to £1m
BADR (formerly Entrepreneurs' Relief) reduces CGT to 10% on qualifying business disposals up to a lifetime cap of £1m:
- Disposal of all or part of a business.
- Disposal of shares in a personal company (5%+ shareholding, employee/director, 2-year qualifying period).
- Disposal of business assets where the business has ceased.
- Lifetime limit £1m of qualifying gains.
- Excluded: residential lettings, FHL post-April-2025, passive investment property.
Capital loss offset strategy
Capital losses can offset capital gains:
- 1Same year: capital losses offset capital gains in the year of loss before any annual exempt amount.
- 2Carry forward: unused capital losses carry forward indefinitely against future capital gains.
- 3Losses must be claimed within 4 years of the end of the tax year of the loss.
- 4Losses cannot offset other income (only capital gains).
- 5EIS losses on disqualifying disposals: can offset against income tax.
The CGT Reporting Series
We're publishing two detailed pieces per week from this series. Check back shortly.
Principal Private Residence Relief: is the home tax-free?
PPR exempts a gain from CGT to the extent the property was the seller's only or main residence. Mechanics:
- PPR exempts the gain pro-rata to the period of qualifying occupation.
- The final 9 months of ownership are always treated as qualifying occupation.
- A landlord's former main home that was let after move-out: PPR for the occupation period plus 9 months, taxable for the rest.
- Lettings Relief (post-April 2020): only available where the owner shared occupation with the tenant. Capped at the lower of £40,000, the PPR-relieved gain, or the let-period gain.
- Spouses can only have one PPR between them at any time.
Inter-spousal transfers
Transfers between spouses or civil partners are exempt from both CGT and SDLT:
- 1Pre-sale 50% transfer to spouse: doubles available £3,000 annual exempt amount to £6,000.
- 2If one spouse is basic-rate, their share is taxed at 18% rather than 24%, saving 6 percentage points on that half.
- 3On a £130,000 gain, the spousal split typically saves £6,000-£10,000 of CGT.
- 4The transfer must be genuine: deed of trust, proper documentation, and ideally predates the sale by months not days.
Valuing unquoted shares for Self-Assessment
Disposals of unquoted (private) shares need a defensible valuation:
- Recent transactions in the same shares: best evidence.
- Independent professional valuation (RICS or chartered accountant): standard for transfers between connected parties.
- Earnings multiple, asset basis or DCF: common methodologies.
- HMRC Shares Valuation Division can pre-agree valuations on application.
- Aggressive undervaluation in connected-party transfers is a leading cause of HMRC enquiry.
CGT disposal in 2026?
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