Tristan Noyes looks at the capital gains tax annual exemption and considers a popular planning technique.
The UK’s tax rules generally give individuals an annual exemption from capital gains tax (CGT).
The exemption is £3,000 (for 2025/26), but it has been more generous in previous years (e.g., it was £12,300 in 2022/23). It allows individuals to make capital gains up to that limit with no CGT (for example) on company shares or a rental property.
What’s it worth?
With CGT recently increased to 24% for higher rate taxpayers, the annual exemption could be worth up to £1,440 per year for a couple.
However, the allowance only applies to gains realised in the tax year. Suppose that you held some shares for 10 years then sold them, realising a gain of £50,000; you can only offset £3,000 of
