CGT Annual Exempt Amount

The CGT annual exempt amount is the value of net capital gains a UK individual can realise each tax year before Capital Gains Tax kicks in. For 2026 the allowance is £3,000 — a steep drop from £12,300 in 2022-23, cut to £6,000 in 2023-24 and to £3,000 from 2024-25 onwards.

Net gains above the allowance are taxed at the CGT rates that apply for the type of asset and the gain’s position relative to the higher-rate threshold:

• Most assets (shares, funds, second homes): 10% within the basic-rate band, 24% above.
• Residential property (not principal private residence): 18% basic / 24% higher. (PPR exempt under the principal-private-residence rules.)
• Carried interest for fund managers: separate higher rates.

The allowance is per-person, not per-couple — but spouses and civil partners transfer assets to each other CGT-free, which lets a household effectively pool two £3,000 allowances. Losses are carried forward indefinitely and offset future gains.

The squeeze means many small disposals that previously didn’t trip CGT now do. Two practical patterns: realise gains progressively across tax years instead of in one go (“Bed and ISA”), and use the spouse-transfer trick before disposing of large holdings.

Use the UK CGT calculator to model gains across asset types.