Capital Gains Tax Calculator UK 2026/27: Shares, Property and BADR

Work out the Capital Gains Tax on shares, a second home or buy-to-let, or a business you sell in the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027). Say you earn £40,000 and sell shares for £45,000 that cost £20,000, with £500 of dealing costs. Your gain is £24,500. After the £3,000 tax-free allowance, £10,270 is taxed at 18% and £11,230 at 24%, so the bill is £4,543.80.

How Capital Gains Tax is worked out in 2026/27

1. Work out the gain. Take the sale price (or the market value for a gift) and deduct what you paid plus allowable costs, such as broker, estate agent and solicitor fees, Stamp Duty paid when you bought, and improvement work (not repairs or decorating).
2. Deduct losses made on other assets in the same tax year, then any unused losses from earlier years that you reported to HMRC.
3. Deduct the annual exempt amount of £3,000. It cannot be carried forward, so an unused allowance is lost at 5 April.
4. Find your rate. Add the taxable gain to your taxable income (income minus the £12,570 Personal Allowance). The part that fits inside the £37,700 basic rate band is taxed at 18%; anything above is taxed at 24%.

Shares, crypto, second homes and buy-to-let property now all use the same 18% and 24% rates. The rates for most assets rose to these levels on 30 October 2024; residential property had already been taxed at 18% and 24% since April 2024. Carried interest is no longer taxed as a capital gain from 6 April 2026; it is charged to Income Tax and National Insurance instead.

Business Asset Disposal Relief from 6 April 2026

Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR, formerly Entrepreneurs’ Relief) now gives a rate of 18%, up from 14% in 2025/26 and 10% before April 2025. Because the relief rate now matches the basic rate, its value is mainly for gains that would otherwise be taxed at 24%. Qualifying gains are set against your basic rate band first, which can push other gains into the 24% rate. The relief has a lifetime limit of £1 million of gains.

• Selling all or part of your business: you must have been a sole trader or business partner and owned the business for at least 2 years.
• Selling shares: for at least 2 years you must have been an employee or office holder, and the company must be a trading company in which you hold at least 5% of the shares and voting rights (different rules apply to EMI shares).
• The claim deadline is the first anniversary of the 31 January after the tax year of the sale, so 31 January 2029 for a sale in 2026/27.

Worked examples

In the buy-to-let example the seller is a higher rate taxpayer, so the whole £61,000 taxable gain is charged at 24%. In the BADR example, £247,000 is taxed at 18% after the allowance.

Selling a home or rental property

• You usually pay no Capital Gains Tax on your home if it was your only or main home for the whole time you owned it, you did not let it out or use part of it only for business, and the grounds (including buildings) are under 5,000 square metres.
• If you sell other UK residential property, such as a buy-to-let or second home, you must report the sale and pay the tax within 60 days of completion using a Capital Gains Tax on UK property account. Late reports can lead to interest and penalties.
• If you own the property jointly, work out the gain on your share only. Each owner has their own £3,000 allowance and basic rate band.
• Non-residents must report every sale of UK property or land, even when there is no tax to pay.

Legal ways to reduce the bill

• Hold shares and funds in an ISA or a pension, where gains are tax-free.
• Transfers between spouses and civil partners who live together are free of Capital Gains Tax, so a couple can use two allowances and two basic rate bands.
• Spread sales over two tax years to use two annual allowances.
• Report losses to HMRC within 4 years so you can set them against future gains.
• Personal pension contributions and Gift Aid donations extend your basic rate band, so more of a gain is taxed at 18% rather than 24%.

FAQs

When do I have to pay Capital Gains Tax?

For UK residential property, within 60 days of completion. For other assets you report the gain on your Self Assessment return and pay by 31 January after the end of the tax year, so by 31 January 2028 for a sale in 2026/27. You may be able to use HMRC’s real-time Capital Gains Tax service instead of a return.

Do I need to report gains below the allowance?

Not usually. But if you are registered for Self Assessment and the total amount you sold assets for in the tax year was more than £50,000, you must report the disposals on your return even if no tax is due.

Does living in Scotland change my Capital Gains Tax rate?

No. Capital Gains Tax uses the UK rates and the UK basic rate band of £37,700, even if you pay Scottish Income Tax on your earnings.

Are cryptoassets taxed the same way?

Yes. Gains on selling, swapping or spending cryptoassets are capital gains and use the same allowance and 18% and 24% rates. Keep records of every transaction, because you need the cost of each token to work out the gain.

Related calculators

• Dividend Tax Calculator 2026/27Tax on dividends outside an ISA
• Savings Interest Tax CalculatorPersonal Savings Allowance and tax
• Inheritance Tax CalculatorNil-rate bands and 40% tax

Sources

• GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax rates
• HMRC: Capital Gains Tax rates and allowances · annual exempt amounts and rates by year
• GOV.UK: Business Asset Disposal Relief
• GOV.UK: Report and pay your Capital Gains Tax
• GOV.UK: Tax when you sell property
• GOV.UK: Tax when you sell your home
• GOV.UK: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances