10 ways to cut your capital gains tax bill

Capital gains tax (CGT) rates went up in 2024 as part of revenue-raising measures from the Labour government, meaning you could now face a higher bill when you sell or give away assets.

The lower rate of CGT has been raised from 10% to 18%, and the higher rate from 20% to 24%, bringing the main rates in line with those charged on the sale of second homes.

We look at how capital gains tax works in another guide. In this piece, we delve into details on how you can cut your bill.

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Simple steps like offsetting any losses, timing your gain carefully, and carrying out a ‘Bed & ISA’ transaction could save you thousands of pounds when you file your annual tax return.

1. Consider your tax position next year

Investors often have a choice as to when they take a capital gain, so it’s worth considering your overall tax position.

Not everyone’s income is consistent from year to year. You might be a freelance worker, for example, who decides to take on more work one year than another.

If you expect to earn less income next year and be in a lower tax band, deferring the sale of an asset could mean you pay a lower rate of CGT on the gain, explains Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Conversely, it may be beneficial to take your profits in this tax year if you expect to pay more tax in the future,” she said.

Of course, you also need to weigh up other factors like market timing. If you are looking to sell some shares after a good run because the outlook has suddenly turned sour, delaying the sale for tax reasons might not make sense if it comes with the risk of capital losses.

2. Use your annual allowance

Each year, you can realise a certain amount in capital gains before any tax is due. This is known as your CGT allowance or your annual exempt amount. The annual allowance works on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis.

The CGT allowance has been slashed in recent years from £12,300 to £6,000 in April 2023, and again to £3,000 in April 2024. For the 2025/26 tax year the allowance is £3,000.

If you are building up a large gain, it could make sense to realise it gradually over a period of years. By taking £3,000 in profits each year, you could avoid paying any tax at all.

You can reinvest the money once you have sold your investment, effectively re-setting your gains to zero, however you need to wait 30 days if you are planning to repurchase the exact same asset. The exception is if you are buying it back within an ISA or SIPP.

3. Offset any losses

You may have losses on some investments and gains on others in any given year. You can use this to your advantage by offsetting the two.

For example, if you have £10,000 in gains and £3,000 in losses, you only need to pay tax on £7,000 of gains. If you haven’t yet used your annual exempt amount (£3,000), you can bring this into the equation too, taking your taxable gain down to £4,000.

“In order to use previous losses, this must be recorded with HMRC and that means you need to disclose losses on your annual tax return,” said Gary Smith, financial planning partner at wealth management firm Evelyn Partners.

4. Deduct any unused losses from previous tax years

If you don’t use your losses this year, you can carry them forward for use in future tax years.

Losses can be carried forward indefinitely, but you need to report them to HMRC within four years of the disposal. This is dated from the end of the tax year in which they arise.

5. Use a stocks and shares ISA

You can avoid CGT entirely by holding your investments in a stocks and shares ISA. You can pay up to £20,000 into your ISA (or ISAs) each tax year in total. Any capital gains you make on assets held in an ISA are tax-free, no matter the size of the gain.

No income tax is due on investments held in an ISA either, so you can also use it to keep your dividends safe from the taxman.

6. Carry out a ‘Bed & ISA’ transaction

A ‘Bed & ISA’ transaction involves selling your existing assets and rebuying them within an ISA. If you do this gradually, only realising gains of £3,000 per year (equivalent to your annual CGT allowance), you won’t have to pay any CGT in the process.

Once your assets are held within the ISA, you can wave goodbye to income and capital gains tax for good as far as the investments in question are concerned.

Investment platforms often offer a ‘Bed & ISA’ service where they take care of the selling and buying for you, usually for one fee.

7. Pay into a pension

Putting money into your pension is one of the most tax-efficient ways to save for the future. Any income or gains earned within a pension wrapper are tax-free.

Furthermore, savers receive pension tax relief on any contributions, paid at their marginal rate. This is 20% for basic-rate taxpayers, 40% for higher-rate taxpayers and 45% for additional-rate taxpayers.

The 20% is applied automatically, but higher and additional-rate taxpayers may need to claim the rest via their tax return, if the pension they are paying into is a ‘relief at source’ scheme like a SIPP.

Pensions used to be a tax-efficient way of passing on wealth after death too, as private pension pots fell outside of the inheritance tax net. However, this is set to change from April 2027 after an announcement made in the 2024 Autumn Budget.

8. Don’t forget Sharesave schemes

Workplace share schemes offer employees a stake in the business and can be incredibly valuable, but they may come with a capital gains tax sting. Fortunately, there’s an ISA rule that helps you save CGT on shares from a Sharesave scheme or Share Incentive Plan (SIP).

Provided you transfer the shares into an ISA within 90 days of the scheme maturing, and they are valued at less than your annual £20,000 ISA allowance, you won’t need to pay any CGT.

Jonathan Watts-Lay, director of Wealth at Work, the workplace savings specialist, said: “[Sharesave] plans are used by many companies to motivate and reward their hard-working employees, as well as help them to build their financial resilience. It is a low-risk way to save for the future, with the possibility of a very good return on investment.

“However, it is important that after many years of saving, share plan participants don’t end up paying unnecessary tax.”

9. Plan as a couple

If you’re married or in a civil partnership, you can transfer the ownership of some assets to your spouse. There’s no CGT to pay on the transfer.

This can be useful if you want to realise some gains and your spouse hasn’t used up their CGT allowance for the year, but you have. It can also be useful if your spouse is a basic-rate taxpayer and you are a higher or additional-rate taxpayer, as tax will be charged at a lower rate.

Transferring assets to your spouse could also make sense if they haven’t used up their annual £20,000 ISA allowance, but you have. They could then migrate the asset into an ISA through a ‘Bed & ISA’ transfer.

It is important to be aware of the risks when doing this. Once you have given the money away, it is in your spouse’s control. “They are free to make any decisions they want with it, moving investments or savings, or spending as much as they want,” explains Coles.

“If you have a strong relationship, this may not be a concern, but if your partner has any issues around money, or any problem debts, they could make poor decisions with this money.”

Also think carefully about what might happen if you get divorced.

10. Consider CGT-free investments

Finally, you could consider adding some tax-efficient investments to your portfolio. These include gilts and things like venture capital trusts (VCTs).

Gilts are UK government bonds, issued by HM Treasury to finance public spending. When you purchase gilts, you are essentially lending money to the government in return for regular interest payments (the coupon) and the repayment of the principal at maturity. Gilts are a relatively low-risk investment due to the UK government's strong credit standing.

VCTs can be risky, so should only be considered as part of a broadly-diversified portfolio. They are, however, tax efficient. Investors qualify for CGT relief, tax-free dividends and 30% income tax relief, with an annual allowance of £200,000.